Songs of Fire and Blood
by SovngardeIsHere
Summary: Waking up in a world alien to his own, a young man must set out to achieve his destiny. The world might at first seem familiar, but the world he once thought he knew is darker than meets the eye. In a world where common folk are left to the prey of beasts and monsters, while nobility live behind closed walls in luxury, Damien must use his new found gifts to purge the shadows.
1. Chapter 1

I don't know what it was that woke me up. It could have been a couple of things, for one I was somehow knocked out fast asleep in some forested area or it could have been the fact that I was sopping wet. "Urgh what the hell did I do last night?" I don't particularly remember drinking last night and even then I would like to think I had a pretty good tolerance. I mean sure sometimes when I've had a bit too much to drink I get pretty wild, but not yet have I ever drunken myself to oblivion and then proceeded to wake up in the wild!

I've been pretty groggy for the last few minutes so you would imagine my surprise when rubbing my face I notice something wrong. "Whoa what the hell happened to my tan?" I noticed that I was a few shades lighter since I have been spending quite a bit of my time this summer in the sun and now my skin was light, I didn't look like an albino or anything, but I was pretty close.

Actually now that I notice it my clothes are different. Earlier I dismissed that fact because sometimes when I go out and party with the boys and I don't end up crashing up at their place for some reason or the other they would always make sure that I would leave with a jacket or something warm. Now looking at my attire I think even my friends wouldn't own something so out of a medieval movie. What I found myself wearing right now is an off-white tunic with a few tears in it and seems to be made of linen or some other rough material. Thank god I'm wearing actual trousers instead of some kind of hose.

"Something else is off, but for the love of god I can't put my head around it, ah well I guess fuck it for now. The important thing is getting out of these clothes before I catch the flu or something." As I look around me I notice a crude bag made out of fur and what seems to be leather. I pick it up and unfasten the buckle. Inside I see a few books, a bit of jerky, a large ass knife and something else. "What the hell is that? I pick up a strange leathery bag inside the bag and notice that it contained water inside. "What the hell is this an actual waterskin? Did my friends prank me and sign me up for some kind of Bear Grylls reality TV show? Actually I don't care I'm thirsty as hell and this is like a god sent gift right now." I uncork the waterskin and drink heavily from it. I also tear apart all my jerky and wash it down.

I pull out one of the books and almost drop it and not because of the weight or anything like that, but because of the title. "Magical theory for beginners, what the hell did I end up in Las Vegas or some shit, although the cold ass forest around me would probably dispute that fact." I shake my head and put it back and pull out one of the other books out of the pack. "Flames and how to will your magicka into producing fire, an instruction manual and beginners fire theory." I look quite shocked at this point and pull another book out and it is a book on producing magical lightning. There's a few more books on magical techniques like training your magical ability to increase in strength and size like a muscle and even a book on basic healing techniques. "What the hell is this? Either someone is playing quite a cruel prank on me or just maybe…" I caress the spine of the magical theory book and decide to read all the books later on, right now I need a change of clothes.

I climb a tree to try to see how far a town is, but my fears are confirmed because everywhere I look I just see trees. At least I can see what looks like a river. I sigh and climb down and put everything back in my bag and throw it on and hold the knife in hand. I scan the area around me to see if there's anything else around me and I notice some flint, thank god for boy's scouts and camping that I know how to use flint. I grab the pack of flint and head off in the direction of the river.

As I'm walking I suddenly remember the fact that where there's a river there's bound to be some wild animals. I stop for a second and look at my knife/dagger and I notice that the reach if this 'weapon' is pretty shit. By the time I go in for a stab a wolf could lunge in to tear into my arm. I look around and realize the only option I really have is to make something out of wood or stone to keep predators at bay. I grab a thick piece of wood and try bending it. It doesn't budge so this is a pretty good stick to work off of. I could either keep it as is and use it as a club or use my dagger to sharpen the end into a spear like weapon. I decide the latter and take about an hour and half sharpening the end and holy is it sharp. I decide to use the stick/spear as some sort of walking stick in my right hand and the dagger in my left.

I continue walking and take in the scenery, I see a few birds and quite a few deer maybe later I'll have to go hunting for some food, but for now I need to start a camp near the river.

Surprisingly nothing harasses me on my journey towards the river. "Well first things first, I smell like shit." I throw off my clothes and jump in the river, it's surprisingly not cold, but even then I usually prefer to take cold showers as it makes me more alert. Only ten minutes later I realize my mistake, I forgot to start a fire before jumping in the river oh well it's not the end of the world there's dead branches and leaves everywhere and it doesn't take me more than a minute or two to start a fire with flint. As I submerge myself once more I notice something that I can't believe I never noticed before. "What the hell happened to my face?!" I scream out loud. My face is one thing, but how did I not notice my hair being long and tied together with some kind of leather strip and the fact that my dark black hair somehow is now a mixture of auburn and chestnut brown hair, but that is something I can live with, but my face what the hell happened? I look at the reflection in the crystal clear water and the face staring at me looks like me, but at the same time is doesn't. My features look thinned out, my cheekbones are higher in height but a lot less wide and my jaw seems to have gotten narrower by a bit, my nose is still straight thank god. My lips seem redder for some reason. My eyes I actually like the change, from a hazel colour to now bright emerald green. Everything I can live with, but by far the biggest change is my forehead. I now look like I need like ten injections of Botox or some shit. My forehead has some pretty deep creases. God damn it I'm only twenty-two for crying out loud why the hell do I have the forehead of a middle age man! Thankfully I don't look older at all aside from my forehead. My skin is unblemished and now after my bath clean. Aside from the loss of my tan, my skin seems to have improved. I also have some thick stubble. Actually let me take care of that now. I swim towards the shore and grab my dagger and start to line up my beard. Nice didn't even nick my skin, I look at my reflection and decide my new look isn't that bad, it's actually quite good, but you've got to understand changing faces is just weird whenever I look at my reflection, I keep on feeling someone's behind me and the face I'm looking at is theirs.

"To hell with it all, waking up in a forest in a fucking tunic and with a pack full of magic books I can justify and still think it could be a prank, but unless I've just gone through like ten different plastic surgeries I don't think I'm in Canada anymore." I sigh, at least I don't have to go to work anymore or pay my car payments anymore. Right I've read about this particular situation many times, the famous trope of landing in some fantasy land or some other universe and usually it's to serve as some sort of entertainment for a higher being. The problem is that I have no idea where the hell I ended up in.

No time to dwell on it, it's getting dark and I have yet to start my camp, I quickly get out of the water and use my tunic as a makeshift towel to dry off and wrap it around my hair to dry it off gradually. I begin by gathering as many dead branches and dead leaves from the ground and soon as I have a large pile I whip out the flint and grab a rock and start to make sparks and in no time some leaves catch on fire and eventually the whole thing is lit. I place a few stones and rocks around the fire to make sure it doesn't spread and cause some kind of wildfire as the clearing ground is quite dry. Now that I have a fire, I need to make a shelter as fast as I can so I look around and find a few small thin trees and I snap the trees off the ground. I then proceed to stick four of them in the ground near the fire and cut slits on top of each stick and place more sticks in between them and keep on piling branch, sticks and thick leaves. I now have a foundation, it would be better if I had some hide, but I have to make due. For the back and sides I place a lot of more small trees in between the spaces and use the inner lining of bark and drying it out, twisting it and making it into some kind of cord to reinforce all the trees by tying each stick together multiple times. I use dirt, mud and a lot of mulch to insulate the shelter so it should now provide me protection from the rain, snow and wind. I throw more dead branches and leaves into the fire and use the flint to create more sparks of fire even though it's still burning, but it never hurts to be safe as I'm leaving my camp to look for dinner. By the time I come back the sun will probably be setting, I was thinking of making a rough bow, but that will have to wait till tomorrow. For now I can probably use my spear to catch a few rabbits as even if they run I can catch up to them and the reach provided to me with the spear is amazing. Before I leave, I heat the pointy end of the spear and burn it to harden the tip.

A few hours later I come back with five rabbits, it was almost too easy, this forest, heck just around this river probably had a few thousand rabbits, and the forest may even have millions if that's the case. Well there is vegetation literally everywhere and the predators probably would target those deer I saw before not small rabbits. I use my dagger to horribly skin the rabbit and the pelt and its innards are probably ruined, but I could probably use those as fuel for fire and some of the fat to light up a few torches. I skewer the rabbits on my spear and place it over the fire to cook. In the mean time I get some wood and carve out a few plates, bowls and cups with rock chipping the inside away. Now I know that since the animals drink this water and that it's pretty far from civilization drinking this water is probably safe, but I just can't help but want to boil the water. I put the bowls and cups over the fire to clean and dry the wood and soon put water in it to boil it and then leave it to the side to cool off. I refill my water skin and start eating two rabbits and some berries that I found deer eating. I have eaten rabbit before, but that was with salt and seasoning, what I'm eating right now tastes like absolute shit and kind of tastes way to chewy. I decide to save the rest of the rabbits as it's quite cold outside and they should be able to last for a day or two, and tomorrow I plan on making a bow and a few arrows.

After I'm done eating and have a few containers full of water I decide to take out those magic books and start reading them. "Alright let's get this started, to be honest I actually had to hold myself back from reading these as if I did I don't think I would have done anything else till I finished." I pull the book on theory and notice it referring to magicka as some sort of natural well within every living thing and sometimes in some things not living as well. When I came across that word I stopped for a moment because I've heard it somewhere just not sure where. Safe to say I'm probably not in some anime though thank god for that, I couldn't imagine some bullshit like Naruto and dealing with a hundred different emos and people with some kind of mental disability spewing about honour or revenge or manipulative old men. It could be the Harry Potter universe and could be what magic was referred to in Shakespearian times. As I continue reading the book it tells me that every single person has the potential to use magic just some people more than others, but if the person least gifted person in the world tried to do a fire spell even they would be able to do the spell if they practiced for a year or two straight and that would take a lot mana refining.

To refine ones mana, they would have to constantly feel your mana and squeeze it out, direct it throughout your body and try to form a spell. Now if you already know magic all you would have to do is meditate while performing a spell and depleting your magic pool and meditate and focus on your mana well while it is regenerating and while it is you have to push it against the edges of the well and what that will do is over time your body will be able to create and store more mana. So using the same example, if the least gifted sceptic of the magical arts started magic when they were a young adult, if they stayed true to the craft and dedicated their life to magic by the time they were about fifty to sixty years of age they would be a master. The problem is people want immediate results and don't have the time and money to fund a career of magic if they don't have natural talent for the arts as they would have responsibilities towards their families. This is the actual reason why so many people on this planet do not like or trust magic because they see your ability to use magic as you having an easy life while they had to work the fields dreaming, but their dreams never came to fruition. Soon enough their descendants started to hear stories made up from their elders who were bitter, about the dangers of magic and started spewing horseshit like turning kids into toads, although the book does say you could actually turn someone into a toad which I'm going to learn as soon as I can, or sacrificing virgins on a full moon to gain more power.

"Hmm sounds like typical medieval behaviour people hate what they do not understand, at least people here don't try to purposely kill magic users just cause." Throughout the night I read the book on theory, it contained more ways to access mana and its functions. Apparently the only limitations of mana was the person themselves, if they had the willpower, the intelligence and the mana capacity they could achieve anything. Even flying was apparently a thing here though they called it levitation. I wonder if this universe is the Harry Potter universe, probably not.

When I finish the book I'm excited and I can't wait to access my mana, but I decide to go to sleep instead. I re-feed the fire and as I'm about to go to sleep I look up in the sky and I'm shocked. "Okay I'm definitely not in Canada anymore." In the night sky not one, but two moons shine and light the night sky. "You know what I'm way too tired for this shit." I decide to just go to sleep and use a pile of leaves and the ruined hide from the rabbits as a bed and use my bag and a pillow and sleep.

The next morning I wake up and decide to first put out the fire and eat some rabbit legs and drink some water. Before I get started on this whole magical journey and turn into Sparrow-hawk I need to make a bow first and even though it'll be annoying, it'll probably take all day long.

I put everything into my bag and go to the forest and find a thin straight tree and break it off with a stone. Then I use the stone to hack away at the wood and half it. I use both my dagger and stone to carve the bow making the limbs thin and the body side of the bow flatter. Every now and then I bend it to see the strength of it. I then cut the limbs so I can place a string around it. For the string I still have some inner bark left from yesterday and it is already dry so I just start twisting it and soon I have a cord line twine which I try to pull and twist and doesn't rip or break under the pressure. I then wrap the string around the bow while bending it, I stop when I have just a bit more than a fist and thumbs space between the string and the bow.

I draw the bow and notice that the bow probably has a draw weight of about twenty kilos or so. Also contrary from popular believe you can actually hold the bow drawn for some time, it's not incredibly heavy although it might be just due to the lower draw weight.

Now for the hard part the arrows. I might be only able to make about ten or so arrows today. For the arrow shafts I used some straight lightweight branches that I used my dagger to shape and cut the tip sharp and cut the nock in the back of the shafts. Now the hard part finding feathers for fletching. It takes a few hours, but I find some kind of wild turkey in the woods and quickly spear it. I take it back to camp de-feather the bird, start a fire and leave the turkey on the spear to cook.

Earlier I found resin so I melt some and put it on my shaft and put small pieces of feathers on it and burn it to stick, leave it to dry and repeat the process on each other shaft. It takes about twenty minutes per arrow shorter than I thought and I have thirty arrows. Before I thought I was only going to make about ten arrows mainly because I thought I would have to scavenge for feathers on the ground, I just got lucky that I ran into a turkey. Next I wrap all the arrows with twine near the feathers. I then place each arrow over the fire to burn them. This will harden the arrow and make it both easier to penetrate and more durable. By the time I'm done it is night time again.

"Ah well at least turkey is a lot better than rabbit especially unseasoned."

I then proceed to keep on reading the different books on magic, reading chapters of each. The thickest was the book on theory being one-hundred and fifty pages long. The others were about a hundred or so and were filled with a lot of drawings. I didn't finish the instruction manuals for fire and lightning spells, but it did detail a lot of stuff like what you should feel when you summon each element and the state of mind to be in to have optimal results. I go to sleep and decide that tomorrow I'm going to spend half on practicing magic and the other half on target practice.

The next morning I finish the remains of the turkey and rabbits and set out for some thick trees to practice archery.

Back in the scouts, I did archery all the time so even though I'm quite rusty it's not like I'm a complete beginner. I nock the arrow, placing the string in the nock of the shaft and use my knuckles to stabilize the arrow and pull the string back, aim using the arrow and my hand and lower the bow as people think that since the arrow falls you should aim higher, but that's only really a problem at a distance, at my range I'm more likely to hit too high. I let go and *thunk* it slams deep into the wood. "Looks like I still got it even after all this time, well let's keep on going."

After a few hours I think I have the basics down and I can aim pretty accurately curtesy of the rabbits I brought back for dinner. I skin each rabbit and by the fifth one I start to salvage an alright hide, it's still horrible mind you, but much better than the mush from before.

I set them aside and decide to practice channeling magic. From what I believe, since I already have a lot of books on magic, this body is probably already somewhat trained, so it might be easier to channel magic. As I meditate I find my magic pretty quickly, maybe if I lived with the energy all my life it would have been more difficult, but since I haven't it feels very alien to me. Every time I will my magic to move I feel very giddy on the inside and it is very ticklish. Soon after an hour I feel quite tired and have to rest. I decide to eat and my magic and energy rushes back. "Hmm so looks like being in optimal condition will help replenish magic faster or rather magicka, but I'm pretty sure that's just an old English way of saying magic or something like that." I think I might be ready to try producing a flame or lightning and be a step closer to a sith lord.

I decide to go with flames as it might make campfires easier to make. I imagine willing my magic into becoming hot and angry pushing it into my hands and then my hands burst into fire. "Holy shit, this really wasn't a mummers farce, I actually can do magic." I actually smile, doing magic no matter small makes me feel like I'm in heaven. I imagine a sea of fire and a volcano and it is bubbling and about to erupt. I push my hands forward and I release my fire magic and a gout of flames comes out. "Ok so that confirms my theory that this body is used to magic at least to an extent. I know I would like to brag about producing the gout of flames almost immediately when the book has many steps like practicing using a candle flame and manipulating it and moving on gradually." From what I've seen earlier while meditating was that my pool of mana was already quite large so it looks like I got lucky and put into a body that's already finished the hardest parts of magic training.

Alright I guess this is where some kind of training montage would start, well better get to it, I'm going to have to train for as long as I can. Only after have I at least mastered what I can, will I try to find civilization. Cue the music.

It's been about three weeks, and have I been grinding like hell. With my bow I'm now able to hit deer from quite a distance as they're way too skittish up close. I've also dealt with a couple of packs of wolves. Normally they would be terrifying, but since I can use flames and lightning it's almost too easy to finish them off. From all the animals I've killed over the past few weeks, I've gotten quite good as skinning, I now wear a shirt made from dear pelts reinforced with wolf pelts. My trousers are now fur filled with wolf fur. The only really hard part was facing a bear and holy shit my arrows didn't do shit to it, they just bounced off. While it was running towards me, I compressed a ball of fire and used my magic to propel it at lightning fast speeds. That blinded the bear and sent it into a frenzy. I used a constant stream of lightning to shock the bear and while the bear was running, it seemed to break its leg so it fell to the ground. While unleashing a torrent of flames, I jumped on the beast and even with one leg broken it still tried to throw me off like the proudest bull would to a rider. As it was thrashing, I used my magic to make my legs stone to both provide weight and strength to grip on with. I then unsheathed my dagger and launched a full on assault on the bear, after my twelfth stab, the beast moved no more.

From the bear I've gotten a lot, its pelt now serves as a cloak and I've melted and merged the fur onto my boots with my magic weaving the fabrics together without a thread. All said and done, I look pretty savage. The teeth of the bear and wolves I've come across, I've turned into a necklace. Also my dagger somehow seems to have been killing animals faster, it could be that I'm just getting better at fighting and that may be true, but I'm somehow seeming to think that magic may be at play here. Enchanting is a thing here. Usually you need a conduit such as a soul gem or a sacrifice for the fanatics, to enchant an item, but skilled enchanters do not actually require them, they can use their magic to imbue the weapon or item to do whatever and it seems that over time if an item is used for a certain purpose it will naturally adjust to it if a wielder is magical.

The most exciting thing was finding out I could turn my body into different elements like wood. Like literally wood. It made me feel like some kind of druid. Hmm I wonder if I can achieve some kind of animagus transformation like in Harry Potter. It would be really cool to turn into some kind of bird and fly, maybe even a sparrow hawk.

Anyways, that bear somehow had a few pouches of the local currency. I'm definitely somewhere in medieval times if they're still using gold coins as currency. He also had a nice recurved hunting bow and a quiver of actual arrows and metal arrows at that. The new bow is literally like night and day of a difference from my old handmade bow. It's more powerful, shoots better and is lighter. There was also a glowing red ring, and ever since then I've been needing to build bigger fires to stay the same level as warmth. I know it's enchanted and I think it protects against heat and fire, but obviously I'm not just going to touch the fire like a madman.

Even if I did though I can heal using magic and holy shit does it feel good. I start glowing bright yellowish and every nick and cut before me even deep ones literally close up before my eyes and heal. The book says it even heals and produces more blood to account for the blood loss. If you broke bones it would adjust back and if something was completely destroyed than you would need to heal it back from scratch. Although many healers cannot do this, the greatest healers can even grow back limbs, and many healers think the secret to immortality is actually though healing magic and how right they are. From someone coming from modern times I know what causes aging, and if you just keep on healing a reversing the damage done to telomeres you could possibly live forever. Ah well that is a long way off.

I've been in these woods for about a month now and I've got to get the hell out of here. I still can't believe I don't know where I am yet. To be fair the name is on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't place it.

I grab my bedrolls made of furs and my bag and decide to head out, but not before filling my waterskins, I now had five water skins, enough for maybe a week of travel. I also have a lot of dried meat in my bag so I set off.

About three days later I came across a large gate and road which was abandoned, but said "path to Bruma" and "path to Helgen". My heart starts beating fast as I suddenly realize where the hell I am. Everything from magicka, the spells, the gold coins I now knew were septims, and even my weird forehead start coming back to me. "Holy shit no I can't have stumbled upon this shit randomly, I mean being in Skyrim is quite cool, but I'm right near the border and its abandoned which can only mean one thing…SHIT, fuck I've got to run these bastards won't think I'm a rebel they'll think I'm a member of the forsworn!" It's kind of cool being a Breton, I guess that's why magic was a little easier for me, but right now I've got to run.

I hear horses in the distance and I realize that I have nowhere to hide. I make a hasty decision and throw off all my furs and my cloak, now being shirtless. Only after I've thrown them away did I realize I could have just posed as a hunter as I don't have any crazy face paint.

A horse races by me and I realize that must be Lokir and he must've just stolen a horse from one of the Stormcloaks. Soon it was like the hounds of hell were unleashed hundreds of Stormcloaks soldiers are running my direction. I almost get hit and jump off the road. Then suddenly hundreds of archers appear and start shooting down the rebels horses making sure to let the rebels live. Just then a horn is blown and then the gate to Cyrodil bursts open and probably a thousand mounted imperial swordsmen led by…is that General Tulius, he looks a lot younger than in the game and then from behind the Stormcloaks, hundreds more imperials surround us and I mean us, I guess it's a good thing I didn't run back into the woods since its now filled to the brim with archers pointing their bows at us, how the hell didn't I see any of them before?

For a second everything slows down and then quietness appears when Ulfric Stormcloak steps forward, I almost think he is about to shout at Tulius, but instead throws his sword to the ground and tells his soldiers to stand down. I know in the game the only reason Ulfric got caught was because he was moving secretly across Skyrim and obviously he couldn't take his whole army to guard him, while the empire ambushed him something like ten to one. In the game he only had like eight guards, while there was only like thirty imperials at Helgen, but was due to the limitations of the game. Here right now Ulfric has somewhat like three hundred soldiers with him and this is just apparently his 'escort' which make sense because even in Game of Thrones I'm pretty sure the king brought like a thousand guards with him even though he was just visiting a friend, hell even Ned Stark brought like a hundred of his guard with him to Kings Landing. The Imperials on the other hand, They look like they have at least two thousand soldiers and they probably didn't even have to go too far from their posts as Helgen is supposed to be a military city for the Imperial army and Bruma is literally right over there. We are between two imperial strongholds. I've heard Hadvar and other people praise General Tulius for being smart, but it just seems that Ulfric was stupid as fuck trying to sneak by the imperials. He probably thought that it would be clever that the enemy would never expect the other to go into their territory willingly. He forgot one thing though, Majority of people don't actually like Ulfric, at least those with a brain, so someone probably told on him. Skyrim needs its independence, but Ulfric just wants to be the King. Funny enough back when Skyrim first came out, I immediately joined the Stormcloaks nearly every play-through and each time was because of revenge, because they tried to execute my character at the beginning. Only after choosing the empire one time did I open my eyes to the truth that the empire was the best for everyone, for one Skyrim is one of the empires territories and when Ulfric murdered the High King they were obligated to restore order to keep the empire afloat. Next was the fact that Ulfric was basically a Thalmor plant who got caught and then released to continue the war in Skyrim. There's also the fact that Ulfric Stormcloak was incredibly racist or at least his followers are, they preach that Skyrim is for the Nords and the Nords only, but the thing is the Nords are not even native to Tamriel, they all hail from Atmora and started a genocide on the local elves. Don't even get me started on his religious views, he doesn't give a shit about Talos or he wouldn't have used the voice to further his ambitions and using it in battle as ways to cheat. He literally spit in the faces of the greybeards the most revered elders in Skyrim and their teachings, and I'm pretty sure they only agreed to teach Ulfric because he promised them that he would become a Greybeard himself, but then he obviously didn't, he got what he wanted and left, found a cause that could unite people and then he had a common army, made himself act like he was a martyr or a symbol of change when all he wanted was power. Even now he could've fought, but he chose to lay down his weapons. If he wasn't there no doubt he would force his men to fight to the death 'for the glory of Sovngarde', but he himself obviously isn't too keen on seeing the afterlife. No he's just a coward that realized that the odds were against him and now to his supporters he tries to act like sacrificing their lives wouldn't be worth it. The problem for him is that we're completely and utterly surrounded and there are hundreds of archers, there's literally no escape. If there was even a crack in the imperial formation no doubt he would immediately tell everyone to fight to the death while he would escape 'to continue the fight' or some other bullshit reason to justify him running. At the end of the day, Ulfric is a typical noble, using common folk to further his ambitions.

Choosing the empire is a hard decision as the player in the game mainly because people are selfish and can't think of the bigger picture. Only once you've set aside your hatred and opened your heart to forgiveness can you truly be the hero that Skyrim truly needed. Choosing revenge is easy, but setting aside your wants for the greater good will truly make you a hero.

The only question is that if I even am the Dragonborn which I would like to think that I am since the people who usually get stuck in situations like this tend to be, could I really in real life forgive the empire for what they are about to do to me. We'll have to see.

I turn around and I see an imperial soldier directing a pommel strike towards my temple then all I see is oblivion.


	2. Chapter 2

I hear sounds all around me. Sounds that of nature would produce and some noises that would suggest that I wasn't alone. In a state of not quite consciousness and not quite unconsciousness I stir and open my eyes. My eyes try to take in information around them, but everything is too bright, I feel like I've drunken a whole bars worth of alcohol then proceeded to jump in front of a train. It feels like the worst hangover I've ever experienced, then all of a sudden my other senses awaken and slam full force into me like a speeding car. My head feels broken somehow. I can feel an incredible throbbing sensation and my body feels very tight and stiff like I slept wrong. My sense of smell feels weakened. Whenever I try to inhale it's difficult like one nostril is blocked up. What I can smell is the smell of sweat and body odor as well as faint traces of pollen. My throat feels very dry and ashy like I've been denied drink for days. Then all of a sudden the ground beneath me shakes and I get launched and slammed into a wall. I open my eyes immediately so wide that they might fall out of my sockets. I cough and wheeze deeply and look around me.

The first thing I noticed was that I wasn't alone, there was a lot of people around me maybe even fifty or so people. They were dressed mainly in a fur wrap with some of them possessing chainmail hauberks, with a blue wrap around them. Wait a second, where the hell am I? I look around and manage to stand up using the bars around me as leverage. I notice that I am in some kind of wooden cage that's being moved by a horse. It looks like one of those cages that the apes in 'Planet of the Apes' would use to transport their human prisoners after hunting them. Wait a second is this…it suddenly all comes back to me. I look at a soldier near me and realize that he is a stormcloak soldier and that we've just been rounded up by the imperials.

Looking around me I notice a few things that are different, mainly this cage that I found myself in. In the base game we were transported to Helgen in a carriage, the same one a rich merchant might use to travel to different cities. It makes sense that they wouldn't move prisoners especially traitors in such luxury. No instead they would add to the torture and lump us all in cages like animals. They're also not stupid. In the game I always wondered why no one wouldn't just roll off the carriage and try to run into the forest as surely they would probably only send a soldier or two after them if they weren't important, but it seems that that the imperials are much smarter than Bethesda gave them credit for. This cage's bars make it so that it is just enough room for an arm to pass through, certainly no one will be escaping anytime soon.

I look around me and see ten different cages and the imperials surrounding them. I look back to my own and look at the people within. They're dirty and look beaten. Some of them hold their faces and heads up high, others look like they're scared and rightfully so. They know that they will either be tortured, hanged or put to the sword if they were high enough ranking. From what I remembered about ancient times was that only nobles and those of high standing were beheaded to grant them a quick painless death. Obviously commoners weren't treated so gently. They were either tortured or hanged like the filth they were. Especially because they wouldn't die right away, their life would be slowly choked from them all the while looking in the faces of the victims they directly or indirectly harmed. It always made no sense to me that we a complete stranger as well as the 'rabble' as Jarls like to call them, were treated to a sort of mercy in a way.

I look around and notice that Ulfric wasn't among us, something else that would be obvious. Why the hell would the imperials surround him with his own people that were so thoroughly brainwashed into thinking his every word was a divine command. I look ahead and surprisingly they gave him his own horse to ride, but he is still gagged and his wrists are bound. He is also flanked by a legion of imperials. I find it strange that they would let Ulfric ride almost freely, but then shake my head as I realize that even though he is an enemy and traitor, he is still a noble and would have to be treated as one even when being led to his execution. His eyes are closed and his head held up high, I guess he's pretty much accepted his death, he's probably thinking of ways to immortalize himself in songs whether it be a last word or an action. Perhaps he's thinking that using the Thu'um and directing it at Tulius when he passes the sentence would be legendary.

I shake my head, what Ulfric is thinking doesn't matter to me. I bring my hand up to my face and notice I have a few bumps and what feels like a swollen forehead. I'm also slightly bleeding. I wipe my head with the sleeve of my shirt…wait my shirt? I look down and see myself barefoot as well as having rags on. The clothes that I am wearing look like they were cut from a potato sack. What the hell, my pants are changed too! Does this mean that those bastards stripped me and saw me naked, what the fuck I can't even begin to describe how disturbed I feel. They fucking stripped me…are you fucking kidding me, I know in the game we wore rags, but I always chalked that up to not starting with any armour in the game to freely be able to roleplay, but this is just sick. This little thing is actually making me maybe considering joining the rebels just to get back at them for their perversions. I'm not actually going to join a maniac though, but still which kind of sick twisted person would just take off your clothes when you were unconscious, I mean sure they gave me a shirt and everything, but still when I find the bastard who was responsible they'll burn.

Suddenly as I think that my pain comes back to me at full force. "Arghh." I hiss lightly. My hands are not bound, probably thanks to this cage, so I without thinking start to use some healing magic to recover from wounds as well as replenish the blood that I lost. As a few rays of light surround me, I feel my body mending itself together, but just then someone slams into me and grabs hold of me and my spell dispels.

"Have you gone mad!?" A random blonde haired young man whispers to me, but harshly almost as if he was shouting. "These imperial bastards didn't bind any of us or kill us as they took our weapons and thought us to all be harmless, headless chickens without our leader to guide us if you will, imperial words not my own. Now I'll ask you once again, have you gone mad?"

I realize that what I was doing was a huge mistake basically advertising to my captors that I was capable of using magic proficiently. Yeah you can just imagine it now, if they figured out that I could basically burn the wooden bars off this cage I would no doubt get pelted with a few bolts or arrows before I even had the chance to explain.

"I…I wasn't thinking, some part of me wants to be mad at you for basically attacking me, but I realize you were only saving my life if only to save your own, but still I'm sorry for that and I appreciate you knocking some sense into me."

The man in front of me looks at me warily for a bit then after what seems like an eternity he nods his head and extends his right arm towards me and I grasp it with my own. "It's good that you have some humility. I can't lie I was shocked to see that the mysterious stranger among us was a wizard. Too many of your kind often think themselves superior to common men who cannot use their arts, it is good to see that are probably not like them. I'm sorry for tackling you to the ground like that, it's just that if the guards around us saw that you were doing magic, they would no doubt think that you were attempting to escape and then maybe all of us in this cage might've been killed in the crossfire."

"You have my thanks for that sir."

"Ha ha it looks like I forgot to introduce myself friend." The man says while laughing.

"Wait a second…friend? Not that I don't appreciate being labeled as such." I ask confused as how he sees me as such after just meeting me.

He laughs some more then opens his mouth to speak. "We're all brothers and sisters now my friend, at least in terms of where we are heading now." He smiles at me sadly. "We've been captured, there's no doubt where we are all headed and it is not someplace I wish to visit so soon, at least not like this, like a prisoner. If I'm going to go to Sovngarde I wish to die on the field of battle with my brothers at my back defending my home and family."

I understand how he feels, this guy seems like a totally innocent young man no doubt lured into Ulfric's rebellion with tales of adventure and riches. Seeing someone like this makes me really hate Ulfric. He basically started a war for no reason. People were still worshipping Talos in their homes for fifty years and the empire never batted an eye and sometimes even in the open as the Dominion only posted their agents to patrol Skyrim after Ulfric started making noise about taking "Skyrim back from the elves". Actually now that I think of it maybe that is exactly what he wanted. He led protests openly knowing it would attract the wrong kind of attention and when it did he capitalized off of it. He wanted the Nords to feel like they were being oppressed and what better way to show that than people being executed and imprisoned for their beliefs and then he swooped in and decided to 'save' Skyrim with his noble cause.

I believe people should have the right to worship whoever and believe what they will as long as it does not affect society and people around them negatively, but is worshipping Talos in the open rather than being subtle about it really worth all the deaths that this crusade has brought. How many young kids have been misled about the glories of war only to die from an arrow piercing their skull before they take five steps on a field of battle? How many parents have died leaving their children as orphans that Ulfric throws away in the gutter? You would think that he would take care of the families of his fallen soldiers, but judging from all the poor people in Windhelm he probably doesn't give a shit about someone if you have no use to him. How many soldiers have been crippled, something that maybe even worse than death in a society like this as you would only be a burden? From what I remember veterans were reduced to begging on the streets for a few septims to fill their bellies for the night. Ulfric truly is trash. At least the empire would at least pay some sort of pension towards a soldiers families as once you join, you join for life and that makes you family. Back to the point though, this war definitely wasn't worth all the deaths it caused, Ulfric might escape justice this day, but mark my words he definitely won't be crusading any longer as long as I have anything to do with it.

"Hey there, you alright. You were spaced out for quite a while, I was worried that you might've gone into shock for a minute." The young man says while waving a hand in front of my face.

"I appreciate the concern, but I was just deep in my thoughts as these very well might be our last." I say grimly while frowning. I could voice my opinions on his leader, but no doubt might find myself attacked, yeah not going to happen.

"Aye that maybe so, but…it looks like the end is coming sooner rather than later." He sadly tells me while pointing behind me.

I see the beginnings of what appears to be a city in the distance. Hmm it definitely looks a lot bigger than in the game. It make sense since Helgen would basically be the first city that trade would have to come through to reach other cities in Skyrim since it was basically the border city connecting Skyrim to Cyrodil.

I sigh. "You're right. Listen I have a few questions to ask you if that's alright?"

"Go ahead, I won't bite." He says while chuckling.

"Can you tell me how long I was knocked out cold and can you tell me why am I in rags while everyone else still has their armour and clothes on them."

He bursts out laughing when I mention my state of dress, then the horse driver tells him to shut up or he'll come back there and knock his teeth out and he shuts up pretty quickly.

He still looks like he wants to laugh, but when he sees my glare he quickly shuts up and holds his hands up in surrender. "Sorry brother, I meant no harm. I will answer your first question, it's been about a day and a half since we started our journey, and it's no surprise you were knocked out for that long. Truth be told you were hit so hard they actually thought you died. I'm not too sure, but I think someone may have had to give you a potion to heal at least some of your injuries. For what it is worth, I'm sorry for the predicament you found yourself in, I know you shouldn't be here and for that I am sorry. The empire's cruelty knows no bounds it seems if they're just executing everybody and their mother for being around the true sons and daughters of Skyrim."

I'm somehow taking the fact that I almost died extremely well, I don't know if I'm in denial and later I'll start screaming to the heavens asking them "why are they so cruel?", but for now my heart starts beating a little faster and my skin seems to have paled even further than I already was, which is saying something. I literally feel like I've taken twenty shots of espresso at once and my body feels jittery.

"Right…so besides my brush with the afterlife can you please just keep a straight face for a second and tell me why the hell these bastards stripped me and not everyone else."

He actually looks serious and tells me. "It takes a long time to take off armour and imagine hundreds of soldiers taking off their armour at the same time, the imperials are way too paranoid to take a risk of some diversion or attack while we were changing, and so they only made us leave our weapons behind. Funny enough they didn't even pick the weapons up, imagine some kids end up near the border and see hundreds of swords and axes, it'll either be their dream come true or it will scare them into going right back to Cyrodil. Why you were stripped and changed though, I have a few guesses. I remember seeing you in the middle of the road as we were chasing that horse thief, that bastard stole my horse so I had to run on foot instead."

Holy shit I forgot all about Lokir, actually where the hell is he, it was always a concern of mine that we could never save him in the game, I mean yeah sure he was a thief, but an execution just for stealing a horse for maybe half an hour is a little extreme. I'll have to ask the guy after, I can't get sidetracked.

"So about my clothes"

"Ah yes sorry for ranting, thieving bastards piss me off especially the ones that steal from me!" He says while shaking his fist. Oh shit Lokir better be hiding or else he might not have to worry about getting shot by the imperials. "As I was saying, when they knocked you out, everyone noticed something strange about you…you didn't have a shirt on. Now even I as a true Nord braving the winters in Windhelm wouldn't dare travel the snowy border shirtless. That could be why they put a shirt on you, but I remember them taking your pants because apparently it was suspicious in its construction."

"What do you mean suspicious?" I narrow my eyes at him.

"They were made of fur and even our scouts have been seeing dead animals all over the forest, at first we thought maybe someone was hunting them, but hunters wouldn't leave valuable carcasses behind. No it seemed more like someone was poaching in the woods taking what they could and fast."

I begin to open my mouth to protest, but the man cuts me off.

"Ah I mean no harm, I'm not accusing you of anything and I could care less if someone killed a few deer, but the thing is that imperials take that kind of thing seriously. Only nobles and common folk with licences are allowed to hunt, although anyone is allowed to fish and kill rabbits. Most likely if you're lucky then maybe they'll take you to trial and use those fur items as proof of poaching and fine you or imprison you for a few months. If you're not so lucky they might just execute you, but there is one more likely possibility and I'm not sure if you'll like it."

He looks unsure if he wants to say what's on his mind, but I could care less about his reservations to maybe offending me, I need to know this information. "Look man, I've been ambushed by imperial soldiers, labeled a maybe traitor, knocked out so hard that I nearly died, been stripped of all my clothes and belongings and I may just be heading towards my death, I think I bloody deserve to know why."

He holds his hands up. "Alright, alright already no need to get so emotional about it, but don't say I didn't warn you. You're a Breton right, I noticed your forehead." He holds up a hand to end my anger of being racially profiled, I mean it's true, but you don't have to point out that my forehead has deep lines, it's still a sore subject. "Hey I told you not to get offended, you want to hear what I have to say? Yes? Then shut up! I'll just go out and say it, what kind of Bretons usually wear fur clothing that has been obviously made by them."

"You mean they think that I'm…?"

"Yes they probably think you're one of the member of the Reachmen, or Forsworn if you will. We're not close to Markarth, but still there has been sightings of Forsworn in these parts before."

"Well I can assure you that I most certainly am not a savage barbarian, I don't think they would act civilly in a situation like this." I assure him. I knew these bastards would somehow think that I was a Forsworn, racist ass Nords is all I can say.

"I didn't say you were, only what the imperials might think." He quickly defends himself.

I wave a hand at his face and shake it off. "Don't worry I don't shoot the messenger, just one thing though you mentioned a horse thief earlier, where is he." I ask generally curious because I need to tell him not to run when the time comes.

His face scrunches up and he snarls. "That bastard! I hope he rots, they gave him a ride on a carriage because many of us think it was his fault that we got captured. If he was in a cage with any of us, we would strangle him long before any noose could get the chance to."

"Hmm interesting, you don't think by any chance the imperials used him to distract and lead you into a position where you would have to end up at the border?"

He takes it in for a second then spits out, "those slimy imperials can't even fight us fairly, they resort to trickery, and I'm not surprised. That bastard, I believe his name was Lokir, was probably some imperial soldier no doubt or maybe some criminal that they offered less time to lead us here, but soon enough he'll find out that the imperials don't always carry out their side of the bargain." He smiles an evil looking smile.

I look in front of us and see us passing through the gates. "Well we'll see soon enough."

Helgen is quite large, not too big, but big enough that maybe a hundred thousand or so live here. There's thousands of imperials stationed here, but I think their main duty is to control the traffic of trade into Skyrim and make sure no contraband passes through.

We pass by houses and crowds of people staring at us in silence. It takes about maybe ten minutes before we come into what looks like the town square and surprise, surprise, there's a platform and gallows right there. There looks to be about twenty or so nooses, so it looks like that the executions will take some time if only twenty can be hanged at a time, but still faster than if everyone got beheaded instead.

Our driver parks his horse and opens the gate to our cage and tells us not to try anything as if they get even a bit suspicious of our actions they'll put a bolt through our throats instantly. As people are getting out one by one, I suddenly realize I never caught the name of the person that kept me company for my ride. "Hey there…friend, I never did catch your name." I tell him.

He looks back at me and smiles at me showing me his teeth. "Ha ha I've been given many names, 'the warrior', 'the barbarian', or even 'the blue bear', but you my friend can call me Ralof." He smiles then is grabbed out of the cart by an imperial telling him to hurry up.

I stand petrified for a moment, almost in disbelief. "I can't believe I completely forgot about him." I wondered where Ralof might have been, but chalked it down to being in another cart, but instead he was with me the entire time. He looked a lot younger than in the game. He looked like he was maybe twenty five at the oldest, which kind of makes sense as someone in their thirties in this time period would surely have a family by now and responsibilities. Holy shit Ulfric really did rob a lot of people of their youth and innocence.

"You there, get the oblivion out here now!" An imperial soldier shouts at me to get out of the cage and I can see a spray of spit as he shouts. I walk to the door and am grabbed and roughly dragged to a line and am told to wait while they check records and take our names.

Shit, I've completely overlooked one thing since this whole reveal of being in Tamriel, what in oblivion am I going to call myself? I can use my real name, at least my first name as it kind of sounds Breton in nature, the problem lies with my last name. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to being able to completely change my identity. Breton names are a playoff of traditional British names, but sometimes can be used to describe your lifestyle. So shall I use something like Buckingham or something else, something cool? The question is what do I want to be in this world? I know I like magic so maybe something like…

I approach the head of the line and there is a young brunette man and middle aged dark haired woman in front of me. I'm pretty sure it's Hadvar, but I'm not too sure, not like I can ask him.

"You there, I recognize you. You were that Breton in those furs that we found practically naked near the border. I have some questions for you, but first who are you?" The man I assume to be Hadvar asks.

It looks like my song and legend begins here. "Damien, my name is Damien Spellcaster." I say with my head held up high and smiling.

"Spellcaster? Are you a wizard or something?" The man says and I notice both of them tense up and put their hands on the hilt of their swords. "I'm sorry, but before I ask you any further questions I'm going to insist you let me place these binds around your wrists, it won't stop you from casting a spell, but it'll hinder you enough that we will be fast enough to stop you before you do anything rash." Shit I really should have thought this through, or maybe just given my first name instead. He looks quite serious and the women looks ready to draw her blade, maybe even wanting me to try to resist so her blade can drink blood today.

I step forward, slowly raise my arms and extend them slowly towards the right of him so not to spook him. The woman unsheathes her sword and holds it to my throat, and the man approaches me with the bindings and ties my wrists together tight, almost painfully so. The woman takes the sword off my throat, but it is still near my face ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"Sorry for that, but you cannot be too careful." He says.

I just nod at him, all joy is pretty much drained from my face.

He nods and starts his interrogation. "Ok I'll get straight to the point, what the hell were you doing out there? We know you're not one of Ulfric's men, he doesn't like elves, even if they're only half-elves. The reason why you're here now is that we've come to two conclusions. One is that you were poaching animals and the proof we have is your old state of dress. The second theory we have is that you're a Reachman, before that theory was more or less farfetched, but a Breton in furs, who by the way threw away his fur clothes and cloak." I pale as I realize they found the clothes that I threw, he notices my look and narrows his eyes. "Yeah, we found your old clothes, did you not think we were going to investigate the area for maybe any runaways or traps? Anyways we found your old clothes and we thought to ourselves why the hell would someone just up and strip in the bloody mountains when imperial soldiers were headed his way, unless maybe he did not want to appear as someone who breaks the law and is part of gang of barbarians. Don't you think that's just a bit fucking suspicious, hiding and acting all cloak and dagger? Then there's the fact that you don't have a traditional Breton surname, something like Spellcaster would be more common among the Bretons that live near Markarth and the fact that you seem to be a wizard. A wizard not wearing robes, but one wearing poorly constructed furs. Have I got everything right so far Damien?" He says with a deadly serious face that is judging my every reaction.

I don't know how to begin, I open my mouth and then close it. "Look I know this looks bad, yes the clothes were mine, but I'm not a member of the Forsworn, think about it, they're brutal savages that would rather die than get captured alive, ask any soldier that might have been stationed near Markarth and they'll tell you the same thing I swear. As for why I threw the clothes away, you've already proved my point. Most Nords are judgemental often coming to conclusions based on what they've heard or think. Most people think any Breton wearing fur and out in the woods is a barbaric witch-man. Yes I practice magic, I wouldn't quite call myself a wizard yet though as I'm still in training, I don't have any robes as I don't have any money to buy them as enchanted robes are very expensive. The reason I was out in the woods was because I wanted to train my abilities in magic so I could be accepted to the College of Winterhold, I practiced there in the woods as I didn't want to harm anyone with my spells so I practiced on some animals in the forest. I'm sorry I killed animals, but if I had a choice between starving to death and hunting a deer or two so I could live longer than sorry I'm not sorry, I admit to killing animals in the forest, but only for food besides what does it matter if I killed a deer before a wolf did it. The clothes I made to stay warm as their bodies would only rot away. If I was a poacher surely I would have made something of better quality. I ended up at the border because I got lost looking for the path, besides I haven't done anything, I'm actually cooperating. Do you think some savage would have the brain to do such a thing?" I say with hope that I could get through to at least the man.

He looks conflicted, almost looks sorry for me and sends me a look of pity. "Captain even if he was a member of the Forsworn, which he probably isn't because certainly doesn't seem like it, he hasn't actually done anything aside from poaching and he could actually dispute the fact it was a life and death situation in a trial to justify his reasons, most courts would probably dismiss his charges and even if they don't then maybe they would only charge him a fine, I think we should maybe at least delay any action on his part before we can confirm his story. Or maybe just hand him over to the local authorities."

"Huh what a bunch of horseshit, I don't believe a word of it, and Hadvar never attempt to suggest or order your superior again or I'll have you flogged." She snarls out angrily. "You there you think your sob story is going to work, no fuck you, today is your last, and if the General wasn't here I would run my blade through you myself, unfortunately I can't, but I can make sure you die first. Hadvar! Escort the prisoner towards the gallows, there's a noose with his name on it." She says while smirking evilly at me.

Hadvar truly looks sorry. "Yes captain. I'm sorry Damien, for what it's worth I do believe you when you say you are innocent. I'll make sure that the imperials track down your family to give your remains to them. Now follow me."

I nod towards him and shoot the captain a dirty look, if she doesn't die in the attack, I'll make sure to burn that smirk right off her face. He sees my look and quickly leads me away from her before anything can escalate. He leads me towards the stairs of the gallows. "Again I'm really sorry Damien, if I had my way you would be cut loose and on your journey towards Winterhold, I might've even given you some of our old battle-mage robes that we have laying around as conciliation." Wow I'm actually touched by Hadvar's kindness, he truly was a good guy just surrounded by corruption. Actually come to think of it, both Hadvar and Ralof were truly good people trying to make a difference and help their loved ones out. Hadvar wanted to protect his family and friends through being a legionnaire, maybe he even had a dream to truly purge the empire of its corruption so it could truly be something that would make you feel like a hero. Ralof probably grew up hearing about tales of old heroes with Hadvar and wanted to be one himself to protect his family, but both seemed to take different paths, while Ralof was being groomed for the life of a freedom fighter, Hadvar joined up with the legion, and I'm sure he now knows it isn't as heroic as it once seemed. Only time can tell, maybe Hadvar will one day lead the legion to true glory, maybe it'll be another, but I intend to ensure the corruption within the empire ends during my life.

"Hadvar…thank you for your kindness in these dark times, promise me you will never change and if you do it will be for the better, for the better of the people."

He looks stunned and doesn't say anything and then nods. "I truly am sorry Damien, the captain assigned to my legion is truly corrupted by her position of power, maybe it was her upbringing who knows, all I know is that she is a terrible person, but even if she is terrible, she is still my superior. I'll let you walk yourself towards the executioner. The captain has made it seem fit that you die first and alone at that. She wants to make an example of you, she wants all the other prisoners to look you in the eye as your own loses life. She wants them to feel fear in their last moments and is using you as a catalyst for those fears to fester." He turns around and walks away. "Goodbye Damien Spellcaster, maybe one day I shall see you in Sovngarde."

I walk towards the executioner and I tune out the priest reading out the blessings. He eventually put the loose noose around my neck and pulls back to tighten it. The rope is very coarse and it irritates my skin. There's people all around me talking and making noise, but I can't hear any of it, the only thing I can hear is the beating of my heart. Doubt creeps into my mind almost thinking that this really might be the end. I look into the crowd and notice everyone looking at me. The citizens almost seem happy as if they were seeing a new movie in the cinemas, I feel bittersweet, only my knowledge of what's to come keeps me sane and from lashing out. I could warn them you know. All those innocent people out there might be saved, but then again they might not. They would most likely think I've gone mad if I told them a dragon was to come, besides some deeper, darker part of me really doesn't want these people who are cheering and celebrating my death to survive. Maybe it makes me a horrible person, maybe not, I think it makes me human. As humans emotions often either drive us to success and happiness or to making regrets. As my eyes scan the crowd I see Ralof and our eyes lock for a second and he puts a fist over his heart and nods. I look at more people and stumble upon Ulfric, we stare for a moment or two and he then gives me a nod. I look back and realize this is it. No Alduin to save me, maybe he comes later, maybe not. Suddenly everyone goes quiet and I realize its time. I turn and realize the executioner was asking me something.

"I said, do you have any last words? If so make it quick." He said.

A hundred things go through my head and I decide that if I am going to die here today, it'll be on my own terms and I will say whatever the hell is on my mind. "Yes, you can go fuck yourself!" I scream out loud and it causes an uproar especially among the stormcloaks.

"Silence, silence. Shut the oblivion up if you lot value your lives!" General Tulius screams out while turning slightly red. "Executioner, the prisoner clearly has said his words, now make it so that they are his last!"

I look in the sky and don't see Alduin anywhere, shit! I turn my head and see the executioner releasing the lever and suddenly time stops. My body feels weightless and floats for the briefest of moments, then I fall through the hole in the platform, my legs catch the platform slowing my fall down a bit so my neck doesn't snap. The rope starts burning and choking me, my hands are bound, but I still attempt to try to use them to alleviate some of the tension. I can feel the life being sucked out of me and my eyes start to lose vision. In the background I can hear screaming, but I don't even register it, I just feel pain. Funny enough, in your last moments you don't see your life flash before you, you only felt regret and not former regret from earlier in your life, but current regret in the moment for my actions placing me in this situation. My eyes start getting foggy and I feel as if my eyes are getting bloodshot. Suddenly something collides with the platform and the wooden pillar snaps and breaks and with it, I fall as well.

I crash to the ground. I feel as I've just been run over, my body feels completely broken. I guess that's good in a way, if I felt no pain after the fall that would be a bad sign that I might've been crippled. I breathe in deep breathes of air, almost greedily as if there was only a limited amount of it. Every time I breathe I feel terrible, like my throat is only hanging together with a thread and every breath slightly loosens that thread that is keeping it together. I open my eyes and I can see shadows and outlines of people and bright lights all around me, but I can't focus on any of the finer details. My ears are ringing, but I can hear or almost imagine screaming and terror around me. Something must've happened, but I can't think for two seconds straight before I start feeling delirious. I almost start feeling really warm and suddenly feel very tired. I try to fight it, but I'm too weak, maybe if I just rest for a moment it'll be alright. No! I use every last ounce of strength to bump my head slightly against the ground to snap me out of my daze. I need to heal, I'm too weak, but I need to use whatever magic I have left to heal myself. I use my willpower to will magic to flow within my body, moving it to my head and throat as well as my legs and back. Thin wisps of light cover my body and with my poor vision blinds me from my surroundings.

It feels like hours pass by as my bones both repair themselves and snap themselves back into place and I feel every shift, which is excruciating. My throat soon feels as if I've only been in a chokehold as opposed to being hanged. My hearing comes back before my vision does and all I hear is terror and explosions all around me. My vision comes back slowly and I at first just see light which I then notice is actually fire all around me. Wait a second did he…did Alduin actually attack, where the hell is he? Helgen is huge, he could literally be anywhere in the city. I can think about that later, what I need to do now is get the hell out of here, I can only hope that the imperial fortress still has a back exit into the wild.

I get up and stumble. It takes a moment or two, but I regain my sense of balance and start to jog even though every step causes a burning sensation through my legs, but I keep on going. I see horrific things as I run. People everywhere are either dead, burned to a crisp or dying. Some people were trapped within rubble. One old man has his legs crushed between a fallen house and he is openly weeping and screaming, it breaks my heart, but there is nothing I can do for these people. I steel my heart and keep on running.

Suddenly I hear a loud horrendous roar. Something only a beast out of a horror movie would produce. I freeze in my spot like a deer caught frozen when faced with headlights. I almost instinctually think that if I don't move then maybe the monster will not notice me. My heart is palpitating, almost as if an alien is about to burst from my chest. I feel shivers and goosebumps cause my hair to stand. Behind me is silence, almost too much so. Against my better judgement I turn my head around and I freeze in place.

My eyes look in to the eyes of the beast and just like a cat's gaze I'm petrified. It looks like something straight out of hell, standing five stories high and at least as wide as ten houses. It's skin seems ashy and glows an unnatural shade, a blood red, almost as if it was caked in the blood of those that it slayed. Steam and fire seem to envelop the beast as it was a cloak keeping one warm. His bones protrude from his body disgustingly, as if they were too sharp and strong to be contained even by his scaly skin, it makes me think of some kind of horror movie equivalent of a contortionist. It feels like hours pass by as we gaze in each other's eyes. Finally he opens his mouth and I tense up and feel like this is the end, but instead of flames, speech instead assaults me.

The words he speak are so alien, so unnatural, I feel as if someone who is mortal shouldn't even begin to comprehend his speech, but somehow I can. His voice is raspy, incredibly so, so loud that it's thundering and of a tone that doesn't expect anything less than total submission. What he tells me both excites me and terrifies me.

Alduin in the Dovah language speaks to me. "Dovahkiin."


	3. Chapter 3

I stood there frozen and glued to the spot, afraid that any sudden movement might provoke the beast. The sudden reveal and confirmation that I was something else, something more than a mere mortal had me feeling fluttery to say the least. The Dragonborn of legends had the immortal soul of a dragon and I was now that Dragonborn. I suspected as much when I saw the border crossing to Cyrodil, but still actually having confirmed it by my assumed mortal enemy solidified that notion.

I looked into his eyes and wondered why the hell Alduin actually saved me from my fate. Yes, I was always a firm believer that Alduin attacked Helgen simply because the Dragonborn was to die at the hands of another, and I have a couple of reasons why. It could be a manner of pride for one, or maybe something else.

I see the telltale signs of movement from the dragon and I tense up. He opens his mouth and I realize how well I could fit in there, his gigantism was severely underestimated in the game. His teeth, if you can call them that, were as long as both my arms combined.

He opened and closed his mouth as if he were alleviating some tension. Every time he adjusted his jaw you could see his teeth scratching bone, but the sound produced from such an action was anything but. It was like scratching a sheet of metal with a nail, it was excruciating to make no reaction other applying pressure towards my ears.

His fangs were twisted in different directions like thorns on a stem to rip you apart in different directions. I could only describe his teeth as stalagmites, dripping what I hoped was only saliva and not venom that would corrode your skin. He flexes his barbed tongue and I brace myself.

"_Hmm, at first I wasn't sure if it was really you. You seemed so…pathetic from afar, so puny. I sensed the soul of a Dovah in the region, but that couldn't be possible as I had yet to call any to join my cause in erasing the sins of the past, no there could be only one being that soul could belong to. Imagine to my surprise actually meeting the one that those old fools call Dovahkiin, like you could slay a mortal, much less higher beings."_ Alduin said slowly, while dragging every word as if each held immense weight to it.

I try to speak with some composure, but doubt still manages to creep through my voice. "Why…why are you talking to me?"

"_What do you mean mortal, you should be honoured to hear my voice when few ever have." _He twists his mouth strangely, unnaturally so. He seemed to be making some kind of expression, like he was smirking or at least attempting to do so, but he only looked even more horrid doing so. A few moments pass by and when I don't say anything he loses his smirk and continues. _"I guess you could say that I would like the mortal to know how much of a worm he is to me. To me you are literally nothing but an ant to be stepped on, a nuisance that those that you would consider divines created in order to hinder me on my noble goal."_

My mouth feels parched and my throat hoarse. I swallow my spit in order to ease my tension a bit, but it doesn't seem to work. I feel as if I have a lump in my throat like I have something to say, but it is being blocked by my self-conscious and rational thinking. I had to say my next few words very carefully. "How is your goal noble, if you only wanted to cause destruction, a lesser being might think that would be the opposite of such a goal?" I say carefully making sure not to offend the great beast in front of me.

He looks at me strangely for a while, it's incredibly unnerving like he was undressing my very being with his demonic eyes and my brow starts to develop beads of sweat. He suddenly starts laughing incredibly loud, it was so thundering it knocked me on my ass as it was so sudden. His laugh sounded like it accompanied the screams of children and men who were being eaten alive. _"You make me laugh Dovahkiin, if only you truly knew how pathetic your existence was."_

I laid on the gravelly floor wet. When he laughed, his saliva shot right at me spraying my ragged attire. I felt disgusting. I however did not move a muscle to wipe myself as his face was only a meter away from my own.

"_Not one for words are you mortal? No matter I'll humour you for the time being. You see the 'gods' you mortals like to look up and bend your knees to, are not exactly as gentle as you may visualize them to be."_

Wait, what? The gods what the hell do they have to do with anything?

I hesitate but in the end I force myself to ask a question. "What do the gods have to do with anything?"

"_So he speaks at long last. I was beginning to think that you bit your tongue. No matter, the gods have everything to with this. You mortals bow to them and worship them and in return they spit in your faces, and you cannot even see it. Although bending your knees is almost instinctual to your race, you clearly have chosen the wrong masters to serve and of your own accord no less." _Alduin drawled out.

"Again I have to ask, what are you trying to say?" I ask with curiosity, momentarily forgetting my own fright.

He looks at me and releases a breath. It smelled of decaying flesh, if you've ever smelt meat going bad then imagine adding roadkill and sour milk, add all of that into a soup and you can begin to imagine Alduin's breath. I do not know if it was the putrid fumes, but I could almost see the cloud produced and visualized it to be brownish in colour.

He stares at me for a few moments and continues. _"Tell me young Dovah, what do you know about the creation of Nirn?"_

"…I'm afraid not that much, only that it was created due to Lorkhan's trickery and the fact that it wasn't really supposed to have gone as planned." I answered confused why we were discussing history.

He smirked. _"You see even among the divines there is some dispute as to what really occurred as many divines think themselves omniscient and falling prey to someone else's narrative would dramatically extinguish that notion."_

He paused for a moment whether to let the message sink in or for dramatic effect. _"You see, Lorkhan gathered up the divines for a little 'project' as I seem to recall. At the time no divine really actually listened to whatever escaped Lorkhan's lips, but one day I do not know how, he managed to convince the majority of the divine spirits to go along with his proposal. My theory is that he convinced them of more power or something similar, but that does not matter now, what is done is done and nothing can truly change that…at least until now that is." _He chuckled for a couple moments and mind you his jaw was still very close to my person.

I got up while the beast was distracted for a few moments and looked around, 'shit there are a few places to hide, but not enough time to reach them, I'll just have to keep Alduin distracted'.

"Umm, I think I know what you're trying to convey to me." I said weakly.

"_Oh you do, well humour me mortal."_ Alduin looked amused.

"You are here to erase Lorkhan's mistakes."

"_Is that all…"_ Alduin appeared to have been raising a brow, only in this case it was some sort of bone.

"…Ah…is there something else." I try to think back on his words.

He opens his mouth. _"No need mortal, by the time you were to figure anything out Nirn would probably have already died on its own, and unsurprisingly I have little patience. You see the 'gods' you worship now were the ones that figured out about Lorkhan's trickery and were either too weak to escape or just accepted their fate and decided to willingly go through with the procedure rather than become even more of a shell of their former selves."_

Where is he going with this I wonder?

"_The ones who escaped before the procedure was too late or those spirits who were too smart and realized Lorkhan's deceit became what is known as the Daedra, evil beings labeled as such simply because they were the smart ones." _He revealed.

"Wait, but aren't Daedra evil in their very nature, they cannot just be labeled as such due to petty jealousy." I said incredulously.

He gave me a look. _"You would be surprised to figure out how childish an immortal can really be, tell me this why would your 'gods' actually like you mortals after all you did steal their power and bound them to this pathetic realm?"_

I stood agape.

He noticed my bewildered expression and continued. _"Who do you think whispered in your ancestors ears mortal, who did your forefathers serve? Do you not think it more logical that the free spirits were painted monsters by the enslaved?"_

"But, but that can't be, it is literally fact that Daedra do foul things to the races of this world, hell what do you think the bloody 'Oblivion Crisis' was about!?" I said with maybe just a little too much passion.

I thought he was about to strike me down then and there, but he only laughed. I fell to my knees, his voice was strong, very much so, as it thundered it only served to fuel the beating of my heart.

"_Your entertainment and foolishness knows no bounds Dovahkiin. Why would a higher being actually care for a lesser race, you are nothing but a game to the spirits, the only reason why the 'gods' don't join in to harm you as well is because they are bound to you and their power is reliant on your belief, the more people that worship a divine the stronger it becomes, the less and it becomes a lowly being hanging on a thread for survival. Your gods couldn't exactly play too much with their food now could they, but that doesn't mean that they have to help you either." _Alduin revealed.

My eyes widened in disbelief because I realized it was true, the mortal race really was a box of toys to everyone. Think about all the wars, the suffering, people starving and all the diseases, the gods could have stopped all of that, but they didn't, they chose not to. A grim look marred my face.

"_It seems like you've finally realized just how stupid you truly were. None the less, let me continue with my tale. You see_ _naturally after being enslaved, the divine beings sought _vengeance _and they achieved that_._"_ Alduin said.

"By killing Lorkhan." I said in a questioning manner.

"_Yes, but they killed him mainly to see if the ritual could have been reversed. When Nirn still remained they accepted their fate, albeit bitterly. The thing is though, they never ever gave up hope of returning to their former selves." _He answered.

It suddenly clicked. "That's where you come in." I stated nervously.

"_You actually do possess some modicum of intelligence after all. You see after trying all they could to restore themselves they realized that nothing is truly free and freedom itself would have itself a cost."_ He stretched the corners of his mouth upwards.

"And they determined the cost would be Nirn itself." I finished for him. My eyes were downcast.

"_That is correct Dovahkiin." _Alduin replied.

"The reason why you're on this crusade is because the gods have forsaken our people." I said shakily.

"_That is indeed so, sometimes for something to start anew something must in turn end. They sent me to dispose of Lorkhan's mistake with promises that I didn't care they could not or would not fulfill, if they were to betray me, I would simply destroy them. The only thing was when I went out to seek my conquest, doubts arose." _Alduin's nostrils flared slightly.

"What doubts? Surely you wouldn't be capable of such a thing." I questioned.

He narrowed his eyes dangerously at me. _"No. It was not me that had the doubts, but the treacherous divines. They suddenly remembered the fact that their power was now tied to your world and beliefs, and they suddenly thought, 'what if I perish along with Nirn', they realized that living enslaved was still better than not living at all so they tried to call the culling off." _He ground out.

"And you denied them respite. You were not worried about any bargain of power from the gods as the very power they spoke of awarding to you would be gained from the destruction of the mortal realm." I realized.

He looked at me oddly like he was trying to solve a puzzle. _"That is again correct Dovahkiin, your eyes seem to have opened at last. Why would I set aside my crusade when it would not benefit me at all? Those pitiful spirits should have realized their folly when contacting me in the first place. I am the only one to win in any situation."_

I realize what message the beast before me was trying to convey. "You told me all this because…because you did not bring our end, but the very beings that guide our races did. We should not scorn you but the gods themselves." I looked down at my hand and it was shaking.

"The voice…" I said looking up at Alduin.

He sneered. _"The voice he says. Don't make me laugh. Akatosh and Kynareth thought that perhaps replicating a shred of my power could hold me back, but they were wrong. Even armies armed with my gift could only delay the inevitable. I have killed many born of the Dovah before, I could easily do so again."_

"Then why have you not struck me down as of yet. Why do I still stand before you? Better yet, why did you save me from my execution? If you had even waited a moment longer before you struck, then wouldn't you have already won? Am I not said to have been the last of the Dovahkiin, what makes me special that you would protect me when you've struck down the others of my kind?" I said incredulously, blood rushing towards my face.

He looked slightly conflicted like he wasn't too sure of the answer himself. _"Why you ask? You know about the prophecy that binds ourselves to one another right? One must die for the other to succeed in their conquest. Prophecies and finicky things that usually want to be fulfilled"_

"Wait, what do you mean? I know about the songs of the last Dovahkiin, but what is this about a prophecy? Could one have just started from just belief itself?" I questioned with curiosity not hidden.

He looked at me for but a second and continued. _"I will not get too deep into the specifics of what would create such a thing, but yes a prophecy can be generated from belief itself, although in this case some divine intervention was also at work."_

"But you have yet to tell me why you saved me from my fate." I said looking the beast in his eyes.

"_Fate and prophecies work in mysterious ways, for you to have been the last of the mortal Dovahs, our meeting would have to have taken place first. Otherwise no conflict would have occurred between us and another Dovah might have in your place been born. Perhaps someone with my gift already. But that matters not now, for we have already met, even the divines could not intervene any further. Now you truly are the last of the Dovahkiin." _He revealed.

"Why tell me all of this? Was it all said to taunt me in my last moments?" I said and noticed in the corner of my eye movement and noise near us.

"_I revealed all this to you so you could open your eyes. Fate has played with both of our lives, we should not have to do anything it demands. I shall give you an offer I've given to no other, join me Dovahkiin and I shall make you an immortal. I would generally not care if there was a prophecy, but I do not play by anyone's rules but my own." _He gave me an incredible stare as if to look at my soul directly.

"What?" I said in disbelief.

He smiled. _"Yes Dovahkiin, join me and I shall make you great. Your voice is still weak, you can barely whisper as it is, join me and I shall make your voice bring even the gods to their knees." _He said in a gravelly voice.

I could hear noises and shouting in the distance. In my peripheral vision, I could make out a force gathering around us. My body tenses and my arms soon feel like they are light. I start sweating as if every fluid that escapes from my pores would grant me an extra chance to flee faster. My heart starts beating and I cannot tell if the thumping I can hear is of it or a war-drum in the distance. Alduin notices my current state and comments.

"_Well? What do you decide?" _He lets out impatiently.

It is all or nothing. "I will not join you Alduin, do as you must, but what you intend for Nirn I cannot overlook." My palms felt slimy with perspiration.

He looks at me for a moment then nods his head. _"Very well, if you shall not join me in body then you shall join me in spirit. Goodbye Dovahkiin." _He opens his mouth and it looks like a bottomless pit, causing me to have a feeling of vertigo. _"Yol…" _His mouth begins to fill with heat and flames begin to appear. I start to back away and run. _"Toor S-"_He is stopped in the middle of his Thu'um by a projectile smashing into his face which causes the shout to erupt in his own mouth.

The collision of the projectile caused Alduin to fall to the ground created a small tremor which knocked me off balance. I lay on the ground dazed but for a second. Then I heard pure unadulterated fury behind me. I looked back and Alduin was smoking, he was looking directly at the imperials who fired at us. They were still flinging fireballs and scorpions at us from a distance and I think this is what broke Alduin's cool state.

"_Stupid insolent worms! JOOR HI NOS ZU'U AG AHST OBLIVION! DIR AHRK OFAN ZU'U HIN SIL!" _He shouted so loud I had to clutch my ears and hold it shut. His eyes turned dark and he took off flying in the direction of the imperials creating a storm of dust in his wake.

I cough for a second and then get up and start to run, I can hear battle behind me, if only they knew it was pointless, the men behind me were soldiers till their last breath. I shook my head in resignation for this moment was my only chance of survival, I could not forsake such an opportunity when gifted.

I ran as fast as I could. I ran till my feet blistered. Ignoring people begging for help all around me. I wanted to help with all my heart, I really did, but if I stopped then the only thing that would have happened was our mutual destruction. So I ran and did not look back.

I finally reached the gates of the fort and saw two figures arguing in front of the entrance of the keep. The smell of decay from the bodies surrounding me was nauseating. I pressed on towards the entrance.

"Ralof, get the fuck out of here! There's no way I'm just about to let you into our keep like this." Hadvar yell at Ralof.

"Move aside Hadvar, did our childhood mean nothing to you. Did you really fall so far to forsake your family and friends like this." Ralof said with some passion in his voice.

I ran towards them and yelled. "You two idiots! Why in oblivion are you two arguing when there is a bloody dragon about? We need to go into the keep else your argument may never be resolved again!"

Hadvar turned towards me and spoke in surprise. "Damien? Is that really you? I could have sworn you died in the first barrage from that bloody monster."

Ralof had a look of relief on his face. "Friend I am glad you survived this bloody apocalyptic event, but you need to show this idiot reason."

I looked at Hadvar and gave him a grim expression. "Hadvar, before you proclaimed me innocent, does that still stand?"

"…Yes it does. You should never have been executed and I'm fucking sorry, how many times do you want me to apologize for actions not of my own." He said kind of angry.

I waved his anger away. "I do not care for words, but for actions themselves. Look I know you're not corrupt like the others are, show us some of that kindness from before and trust us. Be the hero you claim to be." I said while staring intently into his eyes.

For a few moments we stare and his shoulders drop. "Fine! So be it Ralof I'll allow you to accompany me into the keep, but you stay five paces ahead of me. I'll have my eyes on you so do not try anything."

Ralof threw his arms in the air in relief. "About fucking time. If you did not speak more than a woman on her 'first night' then we could've been long gone by now. You have come to your bloody senses at last.

Hadvar blushed and frowned a bit. "S-shut up! Don't make me regret my decision." He stammered out.

Ralof is laughing in the background and it looks like another fight is about to start so I step in to nip it in the bud. "Look guys fight all you want, but inside the fort. We need to get inside now."

They look at one another and both nod their heads. "Ok great let us move on." I say.

"One second let me unlock the door." Hadvar says like fumbling for his keys and opening said door.

We trickle inwards the keep and crash on the beds stationed in the room. "This is the outer quarters for the watchmen. The room is adorned with furniture specifically because it would make swapping shifts that much easier and faster." Hadvar informed us when it became quiet.

"Ah." I said.

"Well thank god for that oversight, now I can rest my ass easy for a few moments." Hadvar said while smirking.

"Hadvar, just how big is this keep exactly?" I asked him.

"Well to answer your question I do not exactly know how big Helgen's fort is in size, but it should be big enough to garrison about five thousand troops at once." Hadvar answered with a hand rubbing his chin.

Hmm so that means that it must be as big as an average university, good to know. "Well Hadvar what is the plan? Do you by chance know of any exits in the fort such as a secret exit?" I asked him.

He looked at me for a second weirdly. "There is one such way…but I don't know if we should take it." He said with hesitation.

Me and Ralof looked at one another and back at him. "And why exactly is that? You do realize that we do need to escape as soon as possible. Is it because you do not trust me? I gave you my word out there that I would not harm you. What more do you want?" Ralof told him with conviction in his voice and fire in his eyes.

Hadvar had a look of deep shame on his face. Ah I know why he was so conflicted. "It is not that Ralof, just…when I tell you about the way out do not hate me for it." Hadvar says while looking downcast.

"I still consider you a brother you know that Hadvar, even after all this time. I think I have an idea of why you feel such shame, but I will not add to it." Ralof says while looking intently at Hadvar.

Hadvar looks up at both of us and hesitates, but releases the information. "You know what would've been some of your comrades' fates right? Not everyone of would've been hanged…some of you would've been used to find the rest of the rebels in hiding."

Ralof cut in angrily. "By interrogation right. By torturing innocent men and women to betray their loved ones only to die for it in reward."

"Those men and women aren't exactly innocent goddamn it and you know it Ralof! I feel like shit, you said you wouldn't get emotional." Hadvar shouted.

"Aye, they might've killed a few soldiers in their service, but can you really fault them for trying to save their own people." Ralof says and holds up a hand when Hadvar opened his mouth to protest. "But as I was saying, for us to leave the fort, we must first pass by your torture room and witness firsthand the empire's cruelty, don't we?"

When Hadvar doesn't say anything Ralof continues. "Really Hadvar, why have you fallen to such a level? What did the empire offer you in return for your honour?" Ralof shakes his head and looks away.

Hadvar grinds his teeth and spits. "You think it's easy to do the things that I do? It makes me sick and sometimes when I close my eyes at night I cannot find any rest for my dreams bring me no joy. All of you out there look down on the things we do, but I cannot fault you for that logic. That doesn't mean however that you can just shit on me Ralof, you think I bloody wanted to imprison my friends and kin? You think I wanted to deal with petty politicians and their machinations? You think I don't know how fucking corrupt the legion is!?" He barks out and gets right in Ralof's face. "Do you have any idea how shit it is to just be a soldier and be forced to carry out your orders or else be punished for trying to be decent? You know how it fucking feels to separate a family and have their children cry and beg you for mercy while being forced to keep a stony face?"

"Hadvar…" I try to calm him down, but he ignores me.

"You don't fucking know me at all! Never ever try to say I've given up my honour to anyone. I've done more for the people of Skyrim then most people ever will." Hadvar says angrily.

"What." Ralof says but is interrupted by Hadvar.

"You don't even realize how hard it is or how many sacrifices I've had to make to ensure innocent civilians wouldn't get mixed into the schemes or eyes of the higher ups. Every time some officer wanted to satisfy their superiority complexes I had to be their target instead. You know how bloody hard it is to do your job trying to protect people when no one else seems to give a damn? It's not something just anyone can do. It's not all sunshine and rainbows, but I thought I could make a difference and I'll be damned before I give up. Plus you shouldn't exactly talk, you bloody joined a usurper. I'm basically a fucking martyr, I try to work inside the empire to stop its more nefarious actions from occurring, but the only way for that to happen is if people like you and your cause did not give the corruption ammunition to continue their ways." Hadvar says heatedly.

"Hadvar I didn't…" Ralof says and doesn't finish.

"Every time one of your stormcloak groups raided a village or even sought respite from the locals, the officers would then interrogate the innocent civilians because they aided the enemy. It was horrible of them, but it was also horrible of your group to put them in that position in the first place. You know this war was pointless, but forget it, I know you are too enamored with Ulfric to change your ways. Rest for a while and then get ready, we'll make our journey through the keep within ten minutes." Hadvar says and walks away.

Ralof looks hurt, but he hides it. "Ah Damien, my friend I cannot believe you're still wearing those rags." He laughs lightly.

"Hmm you are right. Hey Hadvar would you mind if I were to borrow some clothes from here?" I asked.

He takes his eye off the weapon rack and looks back at me. "Aye you might as well. I doubt the men who left these spare uniforms and arms will be needing them anymore." He smiles and comes over. "You have two choices here. There is some boiled leather adorned with metal studs and chainmail sewed into it, or you can wear a heavy padded gambeson. The latter is probably the better choice as it'll actually keep you warm in this country. It also covers more of the body."

An actual gambeson, you know it always pissed me off how they never included them in Skyrim as they were usually considered under-armour or just armour for the poor man. I can understand why they didn't include it in Morrowind and Cyrodil as those places were bloody hot, but Skyrim is cold so it should have been included.

"I'll take the gambeson if you will and some trousers if you have any." I told him.

He chuckled and gave me a black gambeson with trousers and a belt to tighten it. "Here you might as well take these leather boots as well." Hadvar said while giving me said gear.

I changed behind a wall and graced them with my presence. The fit was a little loose, but it was ok.

"Ok you're ready now let's get a move on" Hadvar says while getting up. "Here take this sword, it is not the best, but it'll do its job."

I nodded towards him and examined the blade. It was a bastard sword and could be wielded by one or two hands. A very good sword for thrusting. I was almost afraid of being handed some sort of paddle, but the width of the blade is not to the ridiculous proportions as in the game. It weighed about two to three pounds and felt comfortable to wield. I placed the blade in its scabbard and attached it to my belt.

"Now don't do anything fancy with that blade. One good thrust should be all you need. Besides you are a wizard so you should probably stick with what you know, at least for now." Hadvar said. "Come let's go, both of you follow my lead. While Damien was changing I looked outside and saw that the keep is flooded with imperials. Stick close to me and we should avoid the bigger groups."

"What should we do if we encounter anyone?" I asked mainly for permission to defend myself.

"Let me do the talking, hopefully the situation won't escalate into something regretful." Hadvar replied.

We poured out of the room silent as the night itself. Hadvar walked about ten paces ahead of us while Ralof and I stuck to the shadows on the walls. We snuck around the keep for about ten minutes constantly hiding behind objects with Hadvar covering us whenever troops ran past us. We were lucky Hadvar was not just a simple soldier, it helped a lot when he wasn't questioned.

We heard a whistle from Hadvar a tell-tale sign that there was activity ahead of us. I grabbed Ralof and we hid behind a table. We held our breaths as a pair of feet passed by our table. We waited for a minute then heard a whistle again signifying safety.

We got up and came across a hallway which led into two paths. The hallway was clear so both of us stepped out of the shadows and joined Hadvar.

"Hadvar which way do we go from here?" I questioned him.

"We go left, but…let us go right for but a moment, then we can turn back." Hadvar said mysteriously.

Ralof looked at Hadvar with suspicion probably thinking it was a trap. "What are you trying to do Hadvar?" He asked not hiding the suspicion in his voice.

Before Hadvar could retort I answered him. "Ralof my friend, you have to calm down. If Hadvar wanted to betray us he could've done so a thousand times by now, by the gods he would've had the numbers as well just five minutes ago."

"Alright fine, but you lead Hadvar I'm keeping my eyes on you." Ralof says.

Hadvar rolled his eyes in dismissal of his concerns. "I think you both will find it quite interesting when you see what I mean." He said and it served to spark curiosity within myself.

We enter the second pathway and already it is a lot different than the rest of the keep. Whereas the majority of the keep that we have come across was filled with weapons or supplies, the pathway we were in contained bookshelves. There was thousands of books here, I felt like I was in a library again.

"Hadvar why are there so many books here? Why would a soldier need so many?" I asked.

He smirked. "That right there is one clue to the mystery."

I looked at him and he was giving me a smug look so I decided to check out the clue that he gave me. As I walked towards the shelves I noticed the majority were manuals and theory books with just author names on them. As I passed the shelves I noticed one had a picture on it. I picked the book up and noticed there was a flame on the cover. "No way." I said and looked at Hadvar who donned a shit eating grin.

"You've figured it out then I assume?" He said.

I pulled another random book off the shelf and opened it. It described the properties on Nirnroot and its thousand uses. "Are all these books here about magic?" I said incredulously.

He smiled. "Yes I would believe so. This right here is the battle-mage quarters and study so it is no surprise that they would have books of knowledge pertaining to the magical arts."

"Damn." I said while fascinated with the sheer collection. I didn't know what each book was about, but just grabbed all I could carry and put them into a leather bag in the room.

"I know right, but that wasn't the reason why I brought you here Damien. Here have this." He said while giving me a bundle of cloth.

I open and untie the cloth and some type of black robes were before me. I think for a while what this was and suddenly my eyes widen in disbelief. "…Are these?"

He smiled. "Yes they are. Do you remember when you were up on that platform, I spoke some words to you did I not? That right in front of you is what some of the male battle-mages wear. You're lucky that one was here that could fit you so well. Ha I always at least try to fulfill my promises. Well what are you waiting for try them on."

I look at Hadvar for a second then rush him and hug him tightly. "Thank you friend, you have no idea how much this means to me." I said while feeling slightly emotional.

"Thank me by wearing it and taking good care of that robe." He waves me off when we break apart.

I nod and take off my gambeson. I throw the robes over me and they are quite loose and a good fit not restricting movement in the slightest. The bottom comes to about just past my knees. I decide to wear my gambeson over the robes and reapply my belt and sword.

"I am sorry." Ralof says quietly and walks ahead of us.

Ralof and I look at one another and smile at each other. "You know you guys are still friends right? Even though you don't care to admit it, I can see within your eyes that you do miss each other." I said to Hadvar.

Hadvar brought a hand to his face and sighed. "Hah if only it were that simple Damien. We are both on opposing sides of what we think is the right path for Skyrim to take. I'm afraid it'll take more than honeyed words to bring us closer together."

I looked at him in concern. He noticed my expression and smiled sadly. "Come let us go now, no doubt that idiot has already gotten himself in trouble by now." He told me and started to walk away.

I shook my head at their childish behaviour. I walked over to the table and grabbed the leather sack containing the tomes of knowledge and slung it over my shoulders. I took one last look at the room and then ran towards my companions.

I caught up with them and we passed through the second door, but there was one problem. Whereas the rest of the keep so far we had run into multiple legionnaires, this pathway was so far barren of any soldiers. It was quiet, too much so which only served for the adrenaline and tension within our bodies to grow tenfold.

"Hadvar why is it so quiet? Have no other soldiers thought to use this exit you speak of?" Ralof voiced his concerns.

Hadvar looked back at him and didn't answer for a minute. "…I do not know, but the only advice that I can part is to keep your guard up." He said while turning around and unsheathing his blade.

The song of his steel scraping against his scabbard served as fuel for our own bodies to subconsciously draw out our weapons as well. As we walked further the only thing that became clearer was our fear of the unknown. I looked at my hand and saw it was shaking slightly.

The hallway was dark, unnaturally so, as if someone purposely extinguished the flames so they could strike a person caught off-guard at any time. As we walked my line of sight switched constantly between the front of us and the shadows surrounding us.

After ten agonizing minutes of our slow crawl through the hallway we came across something we did not expect to see after trudging through what seemed like the night itself. We came across a room that was lit.

Hadvar held up a hand signaling us to stop. We huddled around him to hear what he had to say. "That room over there does not seem right, I cannot shake off the feeling that something is going to happen when we pass the entrance." Hadvar said seriously.

Ralof was about to say something but was cut off from the sudden emergence of a conversation from the room. "Captain we have got to get out of here. This is bloody madness, we cannot keep on killing all the soldiers who try to abandon their posts. Goddamn it! I have already put down four of my friends, you even killed that servant girl who wanted some shelter in the keep."

Suddenly a panicked noise was heard. "Wait! What the oblivion are you coming over to me for?" A sound of steel was heard. "Get back! Get the fuck back or else I'll..." The sounds of protest was suddenly cut by a gurgling sound and the sound of something falling to the ground.

There was silence for but a moment and in that time my head naturally turned over to see the expression on our very own legionnaire. It was not a surprise that I found his skin had paled considerably and the grip on his blade had caused his knuckles to whiten. His teeth were grinding against each other and his sweat was starting to pour out of his pores.

"Does anyone else have any objections towards our noble duty?" I could almost imagine heading shaking no. "Good then don't fucking question me! Whoever tries to escape through this exit shall be put down like the dogs they are. Just hold your positions, luckily you idiots actually managed to follow orders and snuff out all the torches in the hallway. Now anyone dumb enough to use this exit will be seen a mile away with whatever light they use." A familiar raspy voice ordered.

We all looked at each other and thanked the gods that we didn't decide to use a torch in the hallway, for it would probably set us up into an ambush.

We backed away from the doorway slightly and whispered to one another. "Hadvar what the fuck is going on here?" I asked him and Ralof was still staring at the exit keeping watch.

"Why are you asking me? I had no part in that psychopath's plan." Hadvar answered while glancing every now and then at the door.

"We cannot turn around now Hadvar, we must move forward." Ralof told him.

"…I know." He said in resignation.

"Do you truly? You do know what we must do to get past?" Ralof said

"Yes! I know what entering the room will mean, just…just let me think for a minute." Hadvar snapped.

"We have no time for that Hadvar. I know it is tough to turn on the ones who were once people you considered allies and brothers, but we must move on, every second we remain the higher the risk that the fort breaks apart and crushes all of us." I told him.

He looks at me and turns away. "I know…alright I'll go in first, when I signal, you two charge in the room and attack."

"What is the signal?" I asked.

He looked at me and half smiled. "Trust me, you'll know it when you see it."

He walked away and we all got into our positions at the entrance. He walked in and the conversation inside ceased.

"Hello captain. Lovely to see you here this fine evening the people are already calling the apocalypse. Now I don't suppose you'll let me on through will you?" Hadvar said while smirking.

"What the fuck are you doing here? No maybe I should rephrase that question, how in the oblivion did you get here?" The captain said incredulously.

Hadvar looked around at all the bodies littering the ground and his face darkened. "Why have you done this? What gives you the right to play god with these people's lives? You do realize that you have no authority to execute soldiers for following the commands of their general." Hadvar said as he closed in on a soldier.

"What are you talking about Hadvar, do not speak in riddles?" The captain grit out.

He pointed towards the pile of bodies. "These 'traitors' as you call them, are actually fleeing the keep on the orders of General Tulius." He saw her eyes widen and he continued. "Yes what you have done has only secured your own fate. When General Tulius finds out about what you did, even he cannot look past such a crime."

She backed away and breathed heavily and then smiled after a moment. "You were always such a nuisance Hadvar. Always badgering in my ears about morals this and morals that, but you fail to realize one thing."

Hadvar raised his eyebrows. "And what is that?"

She smirked. "What General Tulius doesn't know won't hurt him. Kill him now! You lot are just as responsible as I am, do not be fooled and think that the 'golden boy' here will not snitch on you, so bring me his head and we shall leave." She shouted while backing away.

Sounds of steel erupted everywhere as they made their choice. Hadvar had only one shot of this and he was going to make it bloody count. He grabbed a bowl and smashed it into a legionnaire's face distracting him and then he closed in with his blade. The soldier tried to recover, but was dazed still, he went for an overhead slash, but raised his blade a bit too high telegraphing the strike which caused Hadvar to side-step towards his right and plunge his sword into the exposed neck of his opponent. Hadvar looked into his comrade's eyes and saw fear for a moment and then in its place a glazed look took hold of his once enemy. As Hadvar pulled the blade out the body dropped to the ground signifying first blood. Hadvar glanced at his sword and saw it was painted red, he shook his head knowing it would be painted black by the time the battle was over. He glanced over his shoulder and saw his two companions trickle into the room getting into positions around him.

As we rushed in, I could see that Hadvar had already taken out one of the combatants and there was five more and the captain herself. We quickly made our way to Hadvar's sides and got into position to launch an attack. I had my sword in one hand, and the flames burning in the other. Ralof had his trusty axe out in his hands as well as a strong wide stance. Our bodies spoke words for us and ordered us to move forward like we were pieces on a board. We kept in a triangular formation as we closed in with the enemy which instead came to us in a line.

I noticed none of them held any shields which made me sigh in relief, making this endeavour slightly easier. We looked at each other for a second and an imaginative horn was blown sending us to start the bloody clash.

A soldier closed in on Hadvar. He thrusted his blade forward. Hadvar batted the blade away with his own and jumped back. Hadvar's blade was longer so he had the advantage of reach and took advantage of it. He stabbed his sword forward causing the enemy to back away, which he then took advantage closing in and slashing upwards from his left towards the thigh and stomach, which his opponent moved to block. He then quickly pulled away and stabbed his opponent's stomach and face lightly which caused his opponent to get sloppy in his position to keep his sword at. His opponent slashed downwards heavily which caused Hadvar to jump back, but then close in slash at his opponents chin causing his to scream and become unbalanced which left him open to a direct thrust to the lung causing his opponent to cough out blood and spasm on the floor. He moved on to the next person.

Meanwhile Ralof was fighting two different opponents at the same time and I was fighting one. They suddenly broke off and stuck together. Ralof and I also joined each other. I decided to make the first move. I extended a hand forward causing a gout of flames to spill forwards, moving it left and right to keep them away from us and back up to the wall to corner them. I could see that the enemy was getting tired and was incredibly uncomfortable as they wore armour. The armour protected them from my flames to an extent, but also was causing them to become incredibly hot.

A soldier raised his blade to strike back, but hurt his wrist when it collided with the wall behind them. They turned around and realized they were trapped. I could see fear in their eyes. We pressed forward. I put both my hands together causing the flame to grow in intensity and aimed it towards our foes. As it reached them, they tried to run, but Hadvar blocked the exit with his axe. They could either maybe die by the heat or die definitely with an axe embedded in their backs. They chose to brave it out.

As I poured more and more power into the flames I noticed the metal on their armour starting to get red hot and as that happened the soldiers started to scream. I noticed that they immediately threw their weapons away and started to take their armour off…or at least they tried to. Their armour was starting to melt and I noticed boils or burns on the skins of the soldiers. I decided to have mercy and closed in on them and burn them faster. I kept up for two minutes and even as their screams died out, I did not stop. Only when I saw blackened flesh did my flames subside.

I turned around to the song of steel playing behind us. I looked around the battlefield and noticed five bodies on the ground. Three bodies that were charred and black, and another two that were caked red in a pool of blood. Hadvar was engaged in mortal combat with the demon that caused the massacre in the room.

We closed in to assist our friend in his battle. "You fucking bastard! You ruined everything. I always hated you Hadvar. You want to know one thing, remember that girl from that village that you gave some of our supplies to when we passed her village?" She snarled out.

Hadvar had a look of fury. "What of it?"

She smirked. "I learned what you did. You gave imperial supplies away without my permission, so since the girl was in possession of said items I branded her a thief." When she saw Hadvar's eyes widen she continued. "I cut off her fucking hands and fed it to her own dog. That stupid whore bled out crying like the weakling she was."

Hadvar was visibly shaking and charged forward. "You vile fucking bitch! I shall mount your head on a pike and bury it beneath a pile of your horse's shit." He yelled.

I looked at him charging and realize why she said that. She was trying to make Hadvar angry so he could fight with his emotions and not a clear head. It would only serve to make him slip up and make a mistake in battle. I was not going to let that happen.

He ran forward with his sword raised high. He could not be more obvious in telegraphing his overhead slash. He stepped forward and struck nothing but air, for the captain saw the strike and stepped back. She took advantage of his outstretched blade and batted it away and closed in. She made a feint towards his left thigh and at the last second when she saw his blade coming downwards to block she pulled her sword back and slashed towards Hadvar's shoulder with the blunt side of her blade. Hadvar yelped and moved back and slashed towards her gap in her unprotected armpit. She parried with her cross-guard and unleashed an upwards slash directed at his kidney. Hadvar caught the attack, but was too slow to stop her thrust towards his chest.

He screamed as the tip penetrated an inch deep into Hadvar's chest. He lowered his sword for but a moment which left his arm exposed. The captain took advantage of his weakness and closed in and slashed at his wrist which caused it to break and the blade in his hand to drop to the ground.

She held the blade towards his throat as he cried out with only one eye open. "Now your service ends. Die Hadvar, I'll look forward to meeting you in oblivion." She barked out.

Hadvar closed his eyes, knowing that he was done for, he could already taste the lights of Sovngarde. "Argghhh!" He opened his eyes and was shocked by what produced the sound.

The captain turned around as she suddenly felt cool liquid dancing around in her throat. She felt something choking her airway preventing her from breathing. She turned around and looked directly in my eyes. Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second as she realized what just happened to her. I pulled my blade from her throat and a spurt of blood suddenly erupted from her neck like a waterfall. She dropped her sword and clutched her wound as if to bandage it with the pressure.

For the next minute we looked on, watching the captain turn blue from the lack of oxygen and blood loss. Her body started to spasm, but the faces that we wore were cold. She would find no respite from us, she earned everything she got in the end. After a minute she stopped and started to drown in her own pool of blood.

After a couple of moments the adrenaline produced from the battle wore off and our energy crashed. Hadvar was crying silently for his injuries still held. I walked over towards my friend and uncorked a potion and held it towards his lips. He drank greedily from the bottle, not letting go till the last drop slid down his throat. "More…please." He cried out.

I gave him another one and sat back as he gulped it down. He threw the bottle and it shattered on impact with the wall. We watched in amazement as the magical liquid closed his wounds shut and winced when we heard the bones snapping back into place.

We all sat for a while, minds lost as if each of us realized this battle might've been just the start of something a lot more sinister. After ten minutes we were knocked from our thoughts by Hadvar standing up.

He sighed deeply. "Come let us leave this wretched place. The longer we stay here, the worse our nightmares shall become tonight." He started to walk towards the exit.

I looked over at Ralof and we both got up and followed Hadvar out of the now red room. For the next few minutes we marched in relative peace. I guess the only good thing by that captain blocking the exit made this way out more barren. No doubt General Tulius and the rest of the soldiers found another way out, probably some other exit in Helgen. We walked forward and came across a storeroom.

"We'll need to restock our rations. Hadvar are there any potions within the room?" Ralof asked him and received a nod in return. "Good, you should probably try grab all you can carry, gods know that this place won't be needing it anymore. Also Damien, help me grab some food for our journey. It'll be embarrassing to survive a dragon only to die by hunger and thirst. I wouldn't know how to face my ancestors for such a foolish mistake." He said and I nodded in return.

Hadvar went to the cabinets in the room and the wardrobe revealing a stock of maybe twenty potions. I smiled at that before heading in Ralof's direction. We put as many items of food into Ralof's bag as we could fit as well as ten water-skins. When we were satisfied with our supplies, we continued our journey through the keep.

Hadvar held up a hand. "Just down those steps is the interrogation chambers." He said and ignored Ralof's dirty look. "I think we are in luck for once, that bastard Vilmer never lets anyone into his 'playroom'.

"…Playground eh?" Ralof said lowly while glaring at Hadvar.

I held up a hand to stop a fight in literal enemy territory. "Have you lost your mind Ralof, do you want to start a fight, here? We're bloody five steps away from the enemy and you want to alert them to our position." I admonished him and he looked sheepish. "Look talk shit all you want to each other, but at least wait till we escape."

He looked away and I shook my head in resignation. "Hadvar, how many people will be in that room? Let me rephrase the question, how many people are supposed to be in the room?" I asked.

He looked at me and answered. "It is usually just Vilmer himself, he does some sick barbaric stuff down there and no one would ever willingly go down there. He usually keeps his lackey down there as well, Torsten, to clean up whatever remains of the bodies." He said in disgust.

"Alright, we'll need to sneak up on them then, hopefully they'll be occupied." I said.

Ralof suddenly spoke up. "We will not just try to sneak by them Hadvar, there is no way I am going to let that man live." He said mainly to Hadvar.

Hadvar looked conflicted for a moment and then looked away. "You'll find no resistance from me. That man has done vile things and I would not save the life of a monster, go ahead."

Ralof looked at him for a moment and then nodded his head. We got into positions with our weapons out and stuck close to the wall going down the steps slowly. As we reached the bottom we heard a conversation taking place.

"Let me out! Please I beg of you no more, I have done what was asked of me, you promised that you would let me go." A familiar voice cried out sobbing.

I peeked around the corner and was shocked to see what was before me. Tied to a table was our favourite horse thief, Lokir himself. Beside him was a wrinkly bald old man with a thick mustache. Behind him was a middle-aged balding man with long hair. The younger man's face was horribly disfigured and ugly. Lokir himself was stripped naked and sections of skin were missing leaving blood and muscle exposed.

"Holy shit they are flaying him." I whispered in horror. Hadvar and Ralof's eyes widened in horror. The entire floor contained disfigured corpses and body parts all over. The smell of decay was incredibly strong, I had to physically restrain myself from expelling the contents of my stomach.

"Oh I don't know, Torsten did you hear me making any such deal?" Vilmer said while cackling.

His lackey smiled showing rotted teeth. "Oh I don't know, you know what I think? I think we should refresh his memory and tell us if we really did." He said in a cockney accent.

Vilmer smiled evilly. "Just what I was thinking." He turned towards Lokir who was crying and he started to rub Lokir's face with his hand. "Shhhh, little boy, shhhh, be quiet now. Don't worry I'll make it alright." Lokir tensed up and started breathing heavily.

"…Do you mean it? Will you *hic* finally let me go at last?" Lokir said while choking on his words and hiccupping.

"Sure I'll you go after one last test. I need a memento you see to signify our lovely time together so do you want to keep your sword arm?" He gestured towards Lokir's right arm. "Or your sword arm." His fingers travelled slowly and soon pointed at Lokir's groin.

Lokir suddenly started twitching and screaming trying to fight his way out of his binds. Vilmer looked towards Torsten and he punched Lokir hard in the stomach causing him to deflate.

After a minute Vilmer asked Lokir again. "So what will it be?" He asked smiling.

Lokir spoke up quietly. "My arm…please have mercy."

Vilmer gave him a shit eating grin. "I'm afraid you're going to have to be a bit more specific than that lad. Ah well, if you can't decide then maybe we shall let fate decide." He took out a coin and showed Lokir it. "Heads and I'll cut off your dagger, I think tails in this case would be highly appropriate for you to save your own tail." He said while laughing.

As he threw the coin in the air, all noise stopped. If you dropped a pin you would have heard it. It span a few times in the air, then descended to the ground. All eyes were glued to it. The coin on the ground had the tails side of it showing. Everyone sighed in relief, but not more than Lokir himself.

Vilmer walked over to the coin and paused looking at Lokir. He then flipped it over to the side signifying a head. "Oh look at that, we got heads after all. Ha, ha, ha, ha." He started laughing loudly which served to make Lokir start fighting against his restraints again.

"Torsten my dear boy, we'll be having sausage for dinner." Vilmer said as he took out his knife and dragged it closer to Lokir.

"Sounds delicious boss." Torsten said while grinning. Torsten turned away for a second to get some rags and turned around when he heard a gurgling sound. Smirking he said, "Already started the fun without me boss", but when he turned around he realized it was not Lokir that made that sound.

Standing before him was his own depraved boss. The only problem was the fact that there was currently an axe embedded in his forehead. He suddenly felt goosebumps travel up his skin when his boss's lifeless body dropped to the floor.

I looked beside me and was shocked when Vilmer suddenly dropped to the ground. Beside me where Ralof once stood, now was empty. I looked ahead and realized in the commotion Ralof threw his axe to save Lokir's life.

Ralof unsheathed his dagger and ran screaming, which alerting the lackey of his soon to be fate. "For Sovngarde!" He yelled.

Torsten was caught off-guard. He had neither a blade nor armour to protect him. Ralof smashed into his body and tackled him to the ground and began stabbing the cretin over and over again. After he felt no struggle he got off the limp carcass and kicked it away.

Hadvar and I looked at one another and walked in slowly in the room. Hadvar went to talk to Ralof and I went to check on Lokir.

He was crying loudly. "Thank the gods…thank the gods, thank the gods." He closed his eyes and a visible tension left him and he started to cry in peace.

"You saved me from those *hic* bastards, please help *hic* me, I'll do anything you ask. Even if you want *hic* to make me your slave I will not resist." He sobbed.

We all looked at Lokir in pity and without asking, Hadvar opened his bag and pulled out a few potions. I cut his bindings, but he was still too weak to get up. We asked him if he could drink the potions himself, but he shook his head saying they broke his arms. We gently poured the potions down his throat, taking our time for him to slowly recover. After ten minutes and five agonizing potions later, Lokir was looking a lot better. He felt drowsy, but we forced him to stay awake, at least for now. Ralof without prompt took Lokir and put his arms around him to support him to walk.

We travelled deeper in the keep and were lucky enough to not encounter anymore soldiers. We reached a rocky cave entrance and when Hadvar told us that we were almost out we decided to take a break for Lokir's sake.

As Ralof let him down and walked away letting the man rest I decided to talk to Ralof. "It was very brave and selfless of you to do what you did my friend." I said smiling at him.

He looked at me and smiled. "Aye, I did what someone is supposed to do when faced with injustice, think nothing more of it."

I grinned at him. "Oh yeah, I seem to remember a certain someone claiming to get revenge when they caught a certain horse thief." I said smugly.

He looked sheepish. "What has been done to our little friend here…is way beyond anything that he deserved. I'm only glad that I could stop the empire's tyranny a little bit. If only all the bad men and women were placed in a room together, it would make it a lot easier for the rest of the world." He sighed.

I decided to cheer him up a bit. "But you did charge in first. Technically you are now his knight in shining armour, Sir Ralof." I teased.

He laughed and splashed some water at me. "Damien have you become a jester now?" He laughed and began to eat some meat.

We waited in the rocky clearing for another twenty minutes, breaking our fast. After everyone's bellies were full, we began our journey once more.

"Friends, I have to warn you." Hadvar said and we all gave him our attention. "Up ahead is what we call 'the nest'."

"What, have you imperials started a farm or something?" Ralof joked while chuckling.

He gave a serious look and we all stopped laughing. "Is it a breeding ground?" I asked.

He gave me a look. "Of some sorts. Look I'll just go out and say it, so do not freak out like a little girl." He said and then took our silence as agreement. "The next room is full of frostbite spiders."

Lokir paled. "Have you imperials gone mad? Don't tell me you use those monsters on the prisoners as well." He said in fear.

"Rest easy my friend, you can rest easy knowing that could never really happen. For one Vilmer would never put himself in danger and these beasts can turn on anyone in a blink of an eye. Also we're in luck, the reason why call it the nest is because just like cattle, we farm these spiders for their venom. Its paralytic effects make it invaluable in battle and alchemists pay a fortune for just a bottle throughout the empire, as the venom can be used for a number of potions. Also we won't really be facing the full monster like being today."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He smirked. "We never let the spiders grow too big, before they reach a certain size we dispose of them. Generally it is about every two weeks when a culling occurs. What this means is that we'll be facing essentially newborns that haven't developed any combat ability."

We all stood amazed. "So how shall we proceed Hadvar? Do they possess any weakness?" I asked him.

He smiled at me. "I was just about to get to that. Normally they would still be an annoyance to deal with up close, but we luckily have you. Damien these spiders possess a weakness to fire. We will need you to literally light that room on fire."

I nodded towards him and we crept up the room in question. Ten spiders the size of dogs were crawling and resting in the silky room. At Hadvar's signal I rushed forward, yelling and catching the attention of all the spiders in the room. When they started to crawl towards me, I brought my hands together and directed my magic towards my arms and my blood started to burn. My hands steamed and caught on fire and I directed my flames forwards acting as an exterminator with a flamethrower. Tiny screeches were heard and as the room started to produce a thick black smoke I stopped and we waited for the smoke to clear.

When the smoke cleared, the bodies left were mostly ash or in the process of melting. There was one body which in fact was still visible not too disfigured.

Hadvar walked over towards it and stabbed it to make sure it was dead, when it didn't move he sighed and dropped to knees and started cut it. I walked over to him to see what he was up to.

"Hadvar what are you doing?" I asked.

"I just told you that the venom is valuable, we may have need of it when we escape." He said while take out a dagger and cutting a piece off its lower jaw and placing the strange flesh in a jar. "This is the venom sac, it is located beneath the mandible. Do not try to cut it off yourself without supervision and antidote, for if the sac ruptures it will not be a pleasant experience. For one, it is highly corrosive in nature." He warned me and I backed off.

I looked back and saw Lokir throwing up and Ralof consoling him. "Alright let's get a move on." I said.

We walked forward through the cave and came across a clearing where a bear decided to call home. "Did you guys decide to farm and breed bears as well?" Ralof asked Hadvar sarcastically.

Hadvar rolled his eyes and ignored him. "All right luckily the bear is asleep, let's try to sneak past it." When he saw our nods of approval he nodded back. I almost started laughing when I saw how fast Lokir nodded.

It felt like we were snails sliding across the ground, that's how slow we moved. Eventually we passed the beast and up close I noticed that this bear was at least three times the size of any I've ever seen. I thanked the divines that we did not engage it in mortal combat. When we passed the corner we started to run and we finally saw what seemed like a pile of gold to us. We saw the exit.

We ran fast, even Lokir who was tired ran. Soon we were graced with the night sky and stars to light our way. "I never thought I would miss this bloody wasteland so much." Lokir said while kissing the ground.

We looked at one another and realized that our journey has just begun. Escaping was just the first part of our tale. Suddenly we heard howls around us and looked at one another and subconsciously huddled together. This was going to be a night to remember.


End file.
